Retribution
by Irene Sharda
Summary: When a new group that rivals Chronos, PHOENIX, asks Train to join them, he at once says no. Yet, this choice has a dire cost, causing him to turn back to his old assassin ways. He’s out for revenge and the only one that can help him now…is Creed Diskenth.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Sitting waiting for the sun to set, Train Heartnet felt the same feeling within his heart that he felt every night. He was tired, but he never ended a night without a long walk around town to clear his head, followed by a bottle of milk on a deserted rooftop underneath the stars. The young brunette stood up from off of the abandoned stair of an abandoned building, on an abandoned street, and walked silently—alone. Not because he had to, mind you! He could have chosen to go back with Sven and Eve to their hotel, but he had always found this as a way to clear his head after a long day of doing whatever took his fancy.

It hadn't always been like this, before he had cut his leash and left his masters …the mark over his left clavicle was a constant reminder of that.

His brain was a jumbled mess by the time the day was through, and it was almost necessary for him to sort through it before he finally let himself drift to sleep. He had never known why he'd started such behavior when he was a Chronos assassin. It was only until after he left the organization, that he slowly began to realize why his soul had secretly told his mind, to command his body to do so every night. It was to immerse his troubled mind into the sounds of the city, to take the edge off, and drown his barely alive conscience in the proverbial nothingness of the night. The thoughts of every person he'd ever murdered, everything he'd ever done, the guilt from every action that he had ever undertaken, all seemed to gather within him in the depth of night, when the adrenaline had worn off, and the weight of everything that had happened that day bared down on him. When Hades seemed just a tad bit heavier sitting in its holster, then it had in the hours before. He would walk around in whatever town he happened to be in that day, in no real particular direction, and think through the events of the day. And after his body got tired of walking, he would return to his apartment and go up onto the roof, where he would then proceed to think about...absolutely nothing.

He would clear his mind and look to the stars, while bathing in the moon's rays. And as the night waned on, he would eventually get tired and leave the rooftops for his room, and stay in solitude until the coming of the sun. Even though he was no longer with Chronos, his body still continued to guide him through this tradition. It would occur everyday without fail, and this night was no exception.

Train looked up into the sky and wasn't surprised see the signs of oncoming thunderstorm. He had felt it coming all day, even when the sky was as blue as a robin's egg. There was a certain charge in the air that was unmistakable to him, even when others didn't seem to notice it. Maybe it was the cat in him, who knows?

Rain wouldn't stop him, but also like his namesake, he didn't quite enjoy it. So slowly, he began to direct his steps back to the shabby motel, where Eve and Sven had already left for hours ago. It had been a long day for all of them, they had bagged a big target today, and it had been exhausting, but the money had made it worthwhile. He wondered what Sven had gotten them for dinner tonight; he seriously hoped it wasn't bread scraps or cardboard-tasting dinners again. Eve would probably make some smart comment to him again, about his appetite or his nature towards the rain, and he would just make another comment right back at her.

He smiled lightly as he thought of his partners, who had slowly turned into his friends. When they had first met, most would have thought they would have turned out to be lifelong enemies, or at the very least, not care the least about their well being. Yet, by some miraculous and strange sense of fate, they had not only learned to work alongside each other, but had become almost necessary pieces to his life. He could not actually imagine life without them.

Not that he would admit that of course, but it was nonetheless true…

Shifting his eyes ever so slightly over his shoulder, he swore silently. He had begun noticing the two men following him about ten minutes ago. His first thoughts went to Chronos or the Apostles of the Stars, but the way these two men were acting were neither of the two groups' styles. He could tell that if these men didn't want to be seen by their prey, then they wouldn't be. They held an air of professionalism around them that was almost overpowering, and they walked as if they knew that he was aware they were following. It was like they didn't care, and were almost taunting him. As he walked down the empty streets, he thought about whether or not he should actually confront his followers. It wasn't really his problem if they wanted to follow him all over the place. He could honestly care less! It was _their_ choice!!

However, his curiosity was also getting to him. Who were these guys? And why were they bothering him? _Man, this is annoying…_

Normally, he would have been contented to just keep going on about his business, but he was tired, and being followed right about now, was not part of his agenda.

"Heartnet? Train Heartnet?"

He stopped, breathing out an annoyed yet relieved sigh. Thank goodness they weren't going to extend this charade any longer, or his good mood would be completely gone, and things might have gotten messy.

He looked behind him at the two young men, his eyes glinting like molten gold in the waning light. It was a look that had softened over time, but could still turn any man's soul to ice. However, the two were completely unperturbed as they stood about four feet behind him. His cat-like eye then moved slightly in order to take in their appearance. They were tall, wearing long black cloaks that were pinned at the shoulder by a gold bird-shaped pendant. The full lengths of cloth covered up almost everything except for their faces and black-booted feet. Though slightly hidden by the shadows, Train could easily make out their features.

Both looked to be in their twenties, but the one on the left was younger than the one on the right. The young man was about his age, with short, spiky blond hair and eyes as blue-green as the sea. There was a slight swagger to his stance, and a half smile on his face. _He's probably the loose cannon of the pair, since the other one looks like he could have been etched in stone._ He was about Sven's age with a solid build and an emotionless air about him, a long single thick braid of black hair fell around his neck, and his dark blue eyes seemed to go on forever. _Strange, it's almost the opposite of his extremely pale skin. But there is something about those eyes…for some reason, they put a bad taste in my mouth, and make my stomach queasy, like when I eat too many of those bad TV dinners Sven gets when we're running low on cash._ Train thought mindlessly. _But he's still obviously the leader of the pair._

Train looked at both of them from his side vision, one half of his brain mildly interested in what they wanted, and the other half was sizing them up, figuring out their threat level to him. Since these were obviously not normal people, they were probably not here for a normal reason either…

"Who wants to know? Cause you two _obviously_ know who I am."

The brunette, who had been the one to call out to him, spoke again. "We wish to speak with you, Heartnet-san."

Train turned fully around, lightly flinching from a lonely raindrop splashing on his shoulder. "Well then make this quick, I don't have all night—and I don't like the rain. Who are you, and why the heck are you following me so openly?"

The blond this time answered drolly, "Well, it wouldn't make any sense to follow you secretly now, would it? Since we were trying to catch your attention, doing that would have been pointless wouldn't it, Train-kun?"

"True, so why did you follow me period?"

The leader pushed his partner back sternly, before he could say another snide remark. "Forgive his curtness, Heartnet-san. He is young."

Train hunched his shoulders uncaring, "Aren't we all…"

"I am Dante Machiavelli," The dark-haired man said civilly, before pointing to his grinning blond partner. "And this is my partner, Llewellyn Satoshi."

"That's nice to know and all, but what exactly do you want? I have other stuff I could be doing, and you're starting to bore me." Train yarned unenthusiastically, while scratching his thick dark hair.

The blond, Llewellyn, pushed away from his partner's guarding arm, moving with such fleeting footsteps, that one could hardly see his motion, before he was suddenly right in Train's face—definitely too close for comfort. Leaning into the former assassin's face, his eyes of the sea looked into Train's orbs of saffron, the glint within them could almost match that of the notorious Black Cat's, albeit with a look of unbalance that made the guy's motives, unstable.

His voice held humor in it as he spoke, but also a perilous trace of menace. "I don't like your relaxed, blasé attitude. It's not everyday that you get visits from people like us. We're not like the run-of-the-mill sweepers, and don't talk to us as if we are, Train-kun. Or did you really forget the dignity that comes with that mark that will not leave your chest—Thirteen? For that matter, why do we even need you?"

Train stepped back, the initial surprise passing quickly before he did a silent and graceful complete back flip, putting another three feet between him and Llewellyn, his interest piqued, but instinct had him lay his trigger hand on Hades hilt.

"It normally defeats the purpose, if you _insult_ the person you want something from. Could you keep your partner on a leash, Machiavelli? Understandably, I don't like dealing with lapdogs that are all bark and no bite. And who is this 'we' that he talks about?" He asked with light, but evident sarcasm.

Dante was by his partner's side in a second, and with a little more force than before, pulled the blond behind him, a warning glare in his dark eyes. He spoke something into Llewellyn's ear, which was most likely a harsh rebuke from the look of it. With a single angry look back towards Train, the blond regressed and leaned against the nearby building, his arms crossed in quiet, brooding discontentment.

Dante watched him harshly for a second, before turning back to the golden-eyed sweeper, an apologetic half-smile on his firm face. "Pardon his words, Heartnet-san. He forgets himself, often speaking without using his head. We've been sent by our superiors in order to offer you…a proposition."

The gunman looked at him questionably, "A proposition? From whom?"

"We represent an organization known as PHOENIX."

"Never heard of you."

Llewellyn spoke up from his spot near the building, a flash of lightning glinting in his water-like eyes, "We would be more surprised if you **had**…PHOENIX is a group that only makes itself known when _it_ wishes to."

Dante nodded in agreement, "What my partner says is true, however, at this moment, our business has to do with you, Heartnet-san. We know much about your history and your ideals, and you have caught the eye of my superiors. They would like to speak to you concerning some matters of loyalty."

Train sighed, he could see where this was going. He had a pretty good idea what these men wanted and why they were here. "Loyalty? My ideals, huh? Well, if your _superiors_ knew anything about my ideals, my history, or my loyalties—they would know that it hasn't been very long since I unchained myself from an organization. I enjoy my freedom, and I give my loyalty to no one. I live for myself, and work for myself. I will not be joining any type of organization any time soon."

Dante smiled, "We were told you would say something like that…You say you have no loyalties Train Heartnet-san; that you are only for yourself. However, that is not true, and you know it. There are people who hold your allegiance…Vollfied-san, perhaps? Eve-chan? Or Walker-san? And even the famed Chronos still holds a few puppet strings that just refuse to be cut…do they not? Do you deny it?"

Train felt the rain drops fall more rapidly upon his shoulders, a dark shadow came across his features and his eyes became harder as he felt the man's words, like his eyes, seeming to bore into him, making him feel threatened. His voice dropped some of its nonchalance and a sense of gravity set in. "What of it? What are you getting at?"

Dante smiled, taking a step closer, his dark eyes seeming to swallow Train whole. "They trust and rely on you, and you come when called. You acknowledge them as your friends do you not? Do you not protect them from danger if need be?"

Train could almost feel the man's words physically; they rang within his head as if the voice was his own, making the sickening feeling within the pit of his stomach, even worse. _What's with me all of a sudden? My head is suddenly killing me and my vision is getting ridiculous. This man's words make no sense, but are nonetheless making my heart tremble. Something's wrong…did I underestimate them?_ He grasped Hades hilt for stability, only to find that his hand was shaking uncontrollably. "W-What are you talking about? Of course I do."

Dante looked at him peculiarly, taking another step towards the golden-eyed sweeper. "Isn't that a little hypocritical?"

"What?"

"You claim to be only for yourself, _**you**_ who were once an infamous assassin who lived and breathed by the command of Chronos, and didn't know the difference between _free-_dom and _free-_sia. Yet, you broke their bonds supposedly and say you are free, that you value your freedom. However, in reality, you are not truly free. You still have hidden chains that bind you. Once you've been assimilated into their folds, Chronos never truly lets go of you. If they ask you for help, under the right circumstances, you **will** go to their aid, and in some ways, vice versa. You've chained yourself to these sweepers, these so called friends of yours, they have taken away your will and your choice. You go where they go. You give them help when they ask. How can you dare to think that you are truly free?"

Train staggered a little, the thunder roaring in the air, was battling with the strange bewitchment that had over taken his mind and body. He at first thought it was just stress, but now it was too intense, that it was unlike anything he had ever faced before. His body was shaky and weak, no matter how much he had tried to get back his self-control; it was no less than impossible. His vision was now blurred and flighty, and the closer that this Dante Machiavelli came towards him, the farther away he seemed. This man was doing something to his head and he didn't know what. He struggled to get a handle on his senses, but neither his mind nor his body wanted to obey his common sense. The fight was beginning to drain him. He was beginning to feel his mind give in to the man's words, despite the opposite that his soul was screaming.

He tried to speak, but his voice had lowered to almost a whisper. "I-I am…free…"

However, Dante ignored his weak words. He instead looked at him with even more intensity than before. Unbeknownst to Train's senses, the pupils of Dante's eyes had began to glow a bright illuminate cerulean blue. His voice now ruled Heartnet's entire mind, it was like a sea of sound that was drowning him. "No, you're not; you just think that you are. This pathetic life has blinded you. I—can show you true freedom, liberty beyond your wildest imagination. All you have to do is accept me…come with me. No friends, no Chronos…nothing to weigh you down, only power. Wouldn't that be a better freedom than the false one you have now?"

Train could no longer resist, he never could have—it was a losing battle from the start. Little did he know, that the moment he and Dante's eyes met, he would never again be able to resist the man's voice. It was like an implanted switch that could be turned on whenever the man spoke…and that switch had been turned on in force. He felt himself agreeing with the man's words more and more. Of course they made sense; they felt so true, so right…

Dante took one more step, now face to face with the young man. Grasping his right shoulder, he whispered into the shaking Cat's ear. "You know what I say is true. It's the wisest choice…don't you agree?"

With those last three words, Train lost all sense of self and fell into a complete comatose, mindless state. As he dropped to his knees in the now constant rain, his once bright, keen golden eyes, turned dreary and tired, seeing, yet unseeing. Where self-determination and willpower once dwelled in abundance, his mind could now only see and hear the words of the PHOENIX agent.

Hearing the guy fall, Llewellyn smiled, having enjoyed the show from a distance. He knew full well the incredible hypnotic abilities that his partner was capable of, and always enjoyed watching him bring person after unsuspecting person to their knees. Standing up straight, he walked to Dante's side, the glow from the older man's eyes slowly dissipating. "Well, that went faster than I thought."

He tilted up the spellbound Black Cat's head, grinning as he looked into the sightless, dull eyes. "Your words are like an inferno, Dante. They consume everyone they touch."

Dante glared at Llewellyn, "You have _such_ a way with words(1)….and it would have gone a lot smoother if you had not run your mouth so much."

The blond hunched his shoulders in excusal, rainwater shaking off his spiky locks. "Can I go against my nature?"

The elder sighed in disgust, shaking his head. Looking back to Train, his eyes began to glow once again. "Stand, Train."

The one-time assassin did as commanded, like a puppet on a string—which in a way, he was… Another example of why the Machiavelli's codename was, "Puppetmaster".

As Dante raised his hand, making as if to snap his fingers near the cat's ear, his partner grabbed his shoulder. "You're going to wake him? Wouldn't it be easier for him _and_ us, to just leave him as is?"

"Yes, but they want him to make his own choice. So what will be done, is done." He answered back, "We're only making an example, Satoshi."

Llewellyn shrugged and went back to leaning by the side of the building. "Whatever, this guy better be worth it. He's getting on my nerves, and I don't like staying out in the rain either."

"_Everything_ has a way of getting on your nerves." He responded, before suddenly snapping his fingers, the abrupt noise echoed loudly in the empty streets, only lightly muffled by the rapidly increasing rain.

Swiftly, Dante's hold over Train mind was broken. The light began to return to his cat-like eyes, and his awareness and senses returned their ownership back to their original owner.

Train blinked, putting a hand to his head, his brain was pounding and his body was still shaking. _What happened? The last thing I remember was heading home, when these two guys came out of nowhere. _He shut his eyes tight in thought. _They asked me to come with them and I refused_… _that's when the foreign one with the strange eyes spoke_…

"Head beginning to clear, Heartnet-san?"

With the sound of that voice, it took him only a split-second to realize that he was not alone, and that this was no time to be standing dazed and pathetic. Faster than even his opponents could blink, Hades was out of its holster and deathly steady in his hand, aimed clearly at black-haired man's chest. The dangerous glint had returned to his golden eyes, showing the pure anger that was starting to build within him. "What the hell did you do to me?"

Dante didn't even bother looking at the gun, but instead changed his demeanor from polite and caring, to serious and callous. "I merely showed you a small sample of the power of PHOENIX. I have the power to command you to do anything, now that I've made eye contact with you. Even your determination, can not resist my will. I had you completely under my power but a minute ago. All I had to do was say the word, and I could have had you jump off a nine-story building if I so chose."

Train growled, that was impossible, how could someone have so much power over him and they had just met?! "Liar! If that were true, why didn't you just command me to come with you, rather than asking?"

Dante's eyes began to glow once again, "Put the gun down, Train."

Train was aware this time with amazement at the man's eyes, but he was even more surprised at the fact that no matter how hard he tried to resist, his gun hand fell shakily but steadily, back to his side, Hades dropping back into his holster.

"I don't lie, Train." The man went back to explaining, "The reason why I awoke you, is because we believe that you should have the freedom to chose for yourself. Yes, it would have been easier to just have you obey me, but that would have been worse than you in Chronos' hands, wouldn't it? You would have no will of your own."

Train looked at his hand, flexing it to make sure he was in control again, but still unable to totally grasp what had just happened. This power was stronger than Tao, it was practically absolute. He had been as in control of his body, as a quadriplegic vegetable! Who were these people? This PHOENIX? Why had he never heard of them till now? Did Chronos know about them?

"We can offer you power like this and more, Train. A freedom beyond anything you've ever known, and an opportunity to work with people who are like you, and understand you. We're not asking for you to choose right here and now. All we're asking is that you meet with our leaders, that you talk to them and let them explain in truth, who and what we are. Is that so much to ask?"

Train felt the water fall down his back, his clothes now thoroughly soaked by the rain. Slowly, he looked up at Dante, and this time, it was the agent that felt uncomfortable under the sweeper's gaze.

This time, when the Black Cat looked at him, his intense eyes were like that of his former self: silent, deadly and more than likely, would bring the target of their gaze…bad luck. His voice was quiet, but dangerous. "Listen to me very carefully, since you didn't seem to get it the first time. I—want _nothing_—to do with you and your little group. I've already told you my answer, and that answer will be the same, no matter how many times you ask. And if I ever see you, or blondie, around me again, you **will** regret it."

Llewellyn smiled and shook his head, _like I didn't see that coming_…

It didn't take long for the surprise on Dante's face to disappear and be replaced by solemnity. "Is that your final decision?"

"What do you think?"

"You will regret your decision, Train Heartnet. My superiors will not be…thrilled."

"Do I look like I care? That's your problem, not mine."

Dante sighed in bereavement and stepped away…only to look back with those infinite, clairvoyant, illuminant eyes. "You will truly regret this, Heartnet-san. For there is one thing you must not forget. You have killed, and no matter how much you try, you will never be able to get that blood from out of your veins. You will only bring bloodshed and anguish to those so-called friends of yours. Remember that I have said this to you, and remember the choice that you have made this night."

As Dante released him, Train shook his head to clear his fuzzy mind, knowing that he had once again been hit by one of the older man's enchantments. He gritted his teeth angrily, tempted to shoot the guy straight in the face. If only he didn't have that unearthly power over him…

"Do that one more time, and you're going to wish you'd never laid eyes on me. We won't meet again."

With that last parting word, Train leapt in the air and onto the awning of the closest building, and from there onto the rooftops, using the true agility and litheness that came with his infamous pseudonym. His figure was soon swallowed up, by the darkness and rain.

Dante spoke to his partner as he watched the Black Cat's fleeting figure, "Report to the Celestials his reply, and inquire as to our next move."

Llewellyn walked to his side, flipping closed his cell phone which he had been talking into for the past five minutes. "Already did, they said go ahead with Stage Two. Looks like you hurt the kitty cat's pride Dante, with your little puppet show. Oh well, it's more fun this way. I like prey that fights back!"

The other man shook his head with a light smile, before clicking speed-dial on his own cell phone. "Well it's no surprise why your codename is 'Shinigami'(2)." He then turned to speak into his phone's mouthpiece, "05 this is 07, do you copy? 05 this is 07, Vision, are you in position?"

There was a second where the only answer was the sound of rain, but soon a man's voice responded, one laden with a heavy Cambridge accent. "I'm in position, Puppetmaster. I guess things didn't go well. What happened, Shinigami act stupid again?"

"Not really Vision, the Cat's just really feisty. We've gotten the okay to move to Stage Two."

Llewellyn snatched the phone away exasperatingly from his partner, "Enough of this codename crap, it's not like anyone's _really_ listening in. Are you clear, Clear?"

* * *

High on a rooftop, some yards away, Vision a.k.a. Clearington Cline, ground his teeth at the sound of his annoying nickname. "Of course I have a clear shot, _Shinigami_. And I'm going to take you out next, if you keep calling me that name."

Llewellyn's voice cackled from the other side, "You always say that, Clear."

Clearington snapped the phone closed in irritation. "Cheeky bastard…"

Thrusting the phone into his pocket, the golden-haired, violet-eyed Briton put out his wet cigarette on the ground and then proceeded to pick up the large sniper rifle that lay by his side. The firearm fit easily into his hand as if it had been made to fit, which, in actuality, it had…

Lying down on his stomach at the roof's edge, and lifting the gun's sight to his eye level, he watched his fleeing target running and leaping across rooftops with superhuman speed.

Normally, not even the greatest snipers could hit such a swift moving target, but Cline wasn't a normal sniper. Not only was he the fastest and unsurpassed of all the snipers out there, but he also had something that no other triggerman had…

As he looked through the scope, his pupils of his eyes began to glow a brilliant purple light. Everything in his line of vision seemed to stop in his mind, he could now make out every detail of ever raindrop, of every shadowy corner of every building in his line of sight, and most importantly, the distinct parameters of his young, brown-haired target. After all, his codename wasn't "Vision" for nothing…

"Gotcha, Kitty…"

Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger, letting the bullet discharge noiselessly, all sound muffled by the silencer screwed on the end of the barrel.

* * *

Train ran on top of the buildings, his good mood totally ruined by his meeting of the PHOENIX agents. He had to get rid of this bad buzz before he went back to Sven and Eve, who were probably worried about him by now. They would all get concerned over him, or even scold him for underestimating the enemy. Either way, he didn't think he would be able to handle either tonight.

_What is it with those guys? In a way, they're worse than the Apostles of the Stars. At least I know what to expect from them, but these guys…that blonde kid was a psycho for sure, and the foreigner with that eerie mesmerizing power…_

Train shuddered as he remembered the feel of the man's words in his brain. It was just plain disgusting. He had started the evening wanting to clear his head, not have it taken over and manipulated!

_Ugh, what's wrong with that guy?! What did he mean by my friends chaining me down? Bloodshed and anguish? Man, thanks to that guy's hypnosis powers, I can't seem to forget what he said. That is so annoying! It just pisses me off. _

Why would he ever get rid of his life with Sven and Eve? Despite the fact that they sometimes annoyed him beyond end, and that they were from three very different worlds, they had somehow ended up being very similar. Because of those two, and Rins, and…Saya, he'd actually been able to know what a real life felt like. Why in the world would he want to give that up?

That's when he heard the gunshot…

To a normal human ear, the sound of _this_ gunshot couldn't normally even be noticed, let alone heard. But to Train, who knew firearms like a chef knew hors d'oeuvres, he could instantly tell the make, model and how many bullets had been fired.

_Sniper_?

Before his mind could even bother to think the thought, his instinct took over his movements. Hades was in his hand and instantly blocked the rifle bullet from hitting him square in the forehead, the metal imploding due to the power of force and the strong Orichalcum metal of Train's pistol!

Instantly on guard, Train watched the crushed bullet plummet to the ground. _A German-made sniper rifle with an ultra-silencer, 9mm, and long range… He's coming from at least twenty feet away, but from which direction? Who is this guy? It's too much of a coincidence that only minutes ago; I left those two creepy goons. Is this guy from PHOENIX too?_

"Pst…"

Turning at the sudden sound, he looked around only to receive a swift heavy fist straight in the face! Falling to the ground from the impact, the wet concrete roof slammed hard into his head, making his vision turn white for a second. And just to add further injury to the situation, his brain smashed against his skull, followed by blood running down from his forehead.

_STEP…STEP…_

The sound of footsteps approaching made him flinch as the noise brought more agony to the pounding space between his ears. Suddenly, he felt a small, but sharp jab of pain against his shoulder!

Looking up through the rain, he saw Llewellyn standing above him with that annoying grin, flipping a bloody dirk dangerously between his fingers. "Nighty-night, Kitty."

Touching his wounded shoulder, Train's finger-tips came away covered in warm, wet, crimson liquid. As he looked at the blood drip to the ground, his vision began to swim. Swearing groggily, he abruptly collapsed onto the wet rooftop, the rainwater covering him like a sheet, blood and water swirling and mixing on concrete.

_That blond psycho…must have had something on that blade…drug or poison. Crap! So this was the real attack…that sniper shot was only a homing beacon…a distraction…Damn it!_

Train Heartnet's mind slowly shut down, his last thoughts before everything went black—was of what he was going to do to that blond bastard when he woke up and…what Sven had gotten them for dinner; he was starving…

* * *

Llewellyn was already back on his cell phone, picking up Cline's crushed bullet from off the ground. "Did you have to aim for his head, Clear? I mean we do want him _alive_."

He heard Clearington sigh into the phone, "It was a shot and I took it, okay? Besides, I wouldn't have aimed at all, if I didn't know that he could block it with ease. Did it work?"

"Of course, the diversion was perfect." He looked down at the fallen, unconscious Train laying on the slick ground, kicking him over on his back with his foot. "The black kitty is sleeping like a baby, and will stay that way for the next 7 hours. Dante and I will go to Site A. You and Weiss gonna take Site B, Clear?"

"Stop calling me that, and no, my partner wasn't able to join me, he had some business to take care of. I'll be going to Site B myself. I won't be doing anything special mind you; I'm a long-range kind of chap. I lack your finesse, Shinigami."

"Well thank you, Clear. I do, like what I do."

"Stop _**bloody**_ calling me that!!"

Llewellyn laughed aloud, "Ha ha! You're so funny when you're mad, Clear. I'll see ya later."

Flipping his phone closed, the blond looked down at the young Black Cat, the XIII mark showing plainly over his collarbone. "Kitty's about to learn that when you show PHOENIX your claws, you're gonna get 'em clipped…"

* * *

Sven Vollfied looked at the cold tuna casserole sitting on the table with a warm bottle of milk next to it. It had been sitting there, unconsumed and uneaten for the last couple of hours. Train had done such a spectacular job today, and had been mostly responsible for catching the target, that the olive-haired sweeper thought it would be right to give the guy a nice reward and have actual good food, catered to the room; it had been the gentlemanly thing to do. But Train was late, and he was tired of waiting for him. He had finished an entire pack of cigarettes in an attempt distract his worried mind.

Listening to the sudden grumbling of his stomach, he looked over kindheartedly at Eve, who sat quietly on the other side of the table, eyeing the food with her scarlet eyes. He could tell she was hungry, but that she was also worried about Train.

"Don't worry Eve, Train's just probably slowed down by the rain or something."

The girl nodded, her yellow tresses bouncing cutely, but his words didn't erase her heavy heart.

Despite his words, Sven couldn't stop his thoughts, which must have been much like Eve's. _Like that's ever stopped him before. What can be keeping that guy? If he comes in here with some half-brained answer, I'm going to clobber him! I'll teach him not to worry me! Why am I even getting worried? He can take care of himself. On the other hand…Oh, would he just get back here! _

Suddenly, as if in answer to his inner thoughts, a startling knock on their hotel door surprised them out of their quiet melancholy!

Snapping up from his seat, Sven almost charged at the door. Boy, was he going to give that cat a piece of his mind! Getting them all worked up…

Jerking at the doorknob, he yanked the door open. "Train, I swear! If I **ever** find out where you've been…"

The words dried up in his throat as his eyes made contact with that of the man standing opposite of him. Those dark blue, vast, endless eyes…

When the man at the door spoke, his voice seemed to echo in Sven's head is if it belonged there. "Good evening, Vollfied-san. I am a friend of Train's and I do apologize on behalf of Heartnet-san, in that he will not be able to join us tonight."

Sven blinked, shaking his head a little. What was this sudden headache? "Um, yeah…'us'?"

"Why don't we go inside? I'll be able to tell you the details of Train's predicament."

For some odd reason, Sven felt oddly compelled to let this complete stranger in…it took all of his inner-strength to tell the man to just wait a minute. Closing the door, he looked back at Eve, who stood looking at him curiously. Looking at her, he quickly judged the character on the other side of the door and decided that at this moment—he'd rather be as far away from the guy as humanly possible.

Quickly and quietly locking the door back, Sven grabbed his metal attaché case from off the nearby table, along with his hat from the stand. He nodded to the golden girl by his side, who instantly understood that it was time to go. She followed him to the window as he slowly raised the shutter, so as not to warn the guy waiting on the other side of their door. However, just as he was about to put his foot out the window, a sudden voice spoke from behind him, easily chilling him to the bone.

"You know? I still don't know how Train-kun could choose being in the company of crummy people like you, and staying in rundown shacks like this, over what we're offering him."

The two spun around, to find another stranger somehow miraculously standing in the middle of their hotel room. This one wore a cloak like the first stranger, but had taken off his hood, exposing his spiked blond hair and his dangerous sea-green eyes. The man was playing with a dirk, flipping it in the air expertly by the blade with his left hand. It looked more as a gesture to pass the time, then an actual threatening act. Sven looked back to the door to find it amazingly still locked. _Who is this guy? How did he get in here? Walk through a wall or something?_

The blond stranger's pupils glowed a turquoise light, as shifted his hand towards the window; causing the pane to fall down with a slam and lock, closing the three of them into the room.

Sven looked at the window in surprise; somehow registering in the back of his mind that they guy possessed some kind of telekinetic powers. Shifting slightly in front of Eve, he held his attaché case defensively in front of him. "What the heck do you want? And where's Train?"

The blond smiled at him disturbingly, before raising his hand to the door, easily unlocking it with his mind. The door opened and the first stranger entered, taking off the hood of his cloak, revealing his unseen features and his long jet black hair tied in a single plait down his back.

Llewellyn nodded to Dante as he entered, closing—and locking—the door behind him, before turning back to the two sweepers before him. Slipping his dirk back into his sleeve, he looked at Sven gleefully. "Train won't be here tonight, but we're gonna leave him a message. You'll deliver it to him for us, won't you?"

Sven snorted, eying his opponents, "That depends…who's it from?"

Llewellyn unclasped his rain-soaked cloak, throwing it on a nearby table, Dante following suit. "Oh, don't you worry about that, old man."

He grinned enthusiastically, "He'll know…"

* * *

(1) Dante is refering to Llewellyn's play on words, both parts of Dante's name come from classic writers, the one Llewellyn was referring to, was Dante Alighieri who wrote the famous Divine Comedy, including Dante's Inferno.

(2)Shinigami is a Japanese word that in its most literal form means, "Death god", it's western counterpart is the Grim Reaper. Those who have seen anime like Bleach, know what I mean.

A/N: Hello Everyone, thank you for reading. This is my first full shonen-ai/yaoi fanfic, so bear with me. Before anyone gets started and asks, this is a CreedXTrain fanfic, so anyone who doesn't like it can go away. However, anyone who would like to read, I welcome reviewers and messages!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Rinslet Walker reached into her pocket for her hotel card key, sighing thankfully to be able to relax after a long day. Sven and his little sweeper group had caught their latest target, not without a little tip from _her_ mind you.

Sven had invited her over for a little celebration dinner, but she declined. She was tired, and wasn't too keen about staying at that run-down hotel anyway. Heading back to her own hotel on the nicer, more-populated side of town, she was fortunate enough to get inside just before the rain started pouring down. After having a small dinner in the dining room, she had gone up the stairs tiredly to the third floor where her room was, hauling a few packages she had bought at a small boutique a couple blocks away.

Swiping her card in the door mechanism, the lock clicked open and she kicked her packages languidly through the dark doorway. Closing her eyes and stretching, she spun herself like a tired dancer, onto the nearby bed. Speaking aloud to herself, she sighed again. "What a day! I think I'm just going to curl up in bed with a pint of Haagen-Dazs, and watch _The Sound of Music_ until I fall asleep."

"Sounds good to me," an unexpected male voice, responded back.

Jumping up from her bed she flipped around, simultaneously pulling out a small pistol from the holster around her thigh, under her dress. She aimed at the couch, where the voice had come from—only to stop midway through pulling the trigger.

"You!"

Lounging on the couch was a young man, sensually smiling at her; watching as she lowered the gun that had been aimed at him with exasperation. Her face began to scrounge up into that cute angry look that he loved and saw so much.

Rinslet tapped her foot, "What are you doing here, Jenos?"

Flipping his black hair behind his ear, Jenos Hazard looked up at her with those charming dark eyes. "I missed seeing that pretty face of yours… Isn't that reason enough?"

She rolled her eyes, not falling for his allure-laden charisma. "Uh-huh…right. How did you get in here? No, wait. I don't want to know. Just, get out."

He stood, shaking out his leather jacket, while watching her remove her own and sit on her bed, proceeding to look through her packages. He smiled, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "Ooh, you're tense Rins. How 'bout I give you a nice relaxing massage?"

She smiled wryly, "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

The Chronos Number frowned a little, "I only live to make you happy, Rins."

She looked up at him, pushing his arms off as she got up and headed toward the bathroom. "I thought you lived for Chronos, Number Seven? Didn't I tell you to get out?"

"Oh come on, Rins baby! A job is a job; you'll always have my heart."

"Uh-huh…" her voice came out of the bathroom, muffled by the sounds of the shower.

He stood stealthily, heading to the bathroom door. "Need any help in there?"

"Come in here, and you—will be sorry."

"I'm _just_ here to help…"

"And **I** _just_ have gun, Jenos."

He sighed dejectedly, and plopped down on the couch once again. "You're so cold, Rinslet Walker. But I love you anyway, so I don't care."

"That would be sweet, Hazard…if it were true."

There was a slight pause before Jenos finally responded. "Is that what you think? That I'm being insincere to you?"

Rinslet laid her head against the tile, letting the hot water run through her lilac hair and down her back. The red blush of her cheeks, refused to leave her face. Why did this man constantly do this to her? Why did he constantly have the power to make her heart tremor and her pulse flutter? _Why do I torture myself, when I know it can never be? _She whispered slowly to herself, responding to Jenos' questions. A single tear falling down her face mingling with the shower water, "I wish I could believe otherwise, Jenos."

Suddenly, a hand came up beside her, wiping away the solitary tear from her face. Turning, she looked to the owner of the hand, his dark eyes looking directly into her own. The look of ultimate candor in them, stopped whatever retort she could come up with.

Jenos stood beside the shower, and pulled her head through the curtains gently by her chin, until they were staring at each other, face to face. He smiled that charming smile as always, but this time…there wasn't any twist of artificiality about it. "You can start believing then, Rins…because the one thing you must never doubt—is my sincerity."

For the first time, she was practically hooked by his gaze. Slowly, he lowered his own lips to meet her soft, rosebud ones. Just as they were about to touch, her feminine finger came up to stop him, lightly pushing his mouth away.

"Jenos…"

_CLICK…_

Hazard heard the audible click of a gun being cocked, and felt the unfriendly sensation of cold steel through his shirt and poking at his abdomen.

Rinslet smiled naughtily as she pushed the gun into him a little harder, "Didn't I warn you?"

He held up his hands in surrender, hurriedly walking backwards out of the bathroom. "But Rins, I was only…"

Her only answer was to follow his fleeting form with the barrel of her COP .357.

Jenos hurriedly exited and closed the door, before she actually used the thing. Standing against the door jamb, he too blushed ever so slightly. Not because he'd never seen a woman's body before, he'd had his share of wine and women. However…it was more because he had seen within her eyes—that she knew. She understood that he was not lying, that he was not trying to charm her, or seduce her, like he did other women. Sure it had been that way in the beginning, but now it was different. It took awhile, but he finally realized there was something different about this girl; something that wasn't like the others. That realization had taken him two months…it took him two years before he realized that she was the one…the one he'd could give—or give-up— anything and everything for.

He knew that it would be hard and dangerous, that leaving Chronos wasn't a walk in the park. Yet, he would do it for her. Sephiria would think him insane, and even Train would laugh, that he would actually leave the life of a Chronos Number behind for a woman, for a single woman. Yet, it was absolutely true. He loved her. He loved everything about her from her fierce independence, to her resilience, even the way she threatened him just now. He couldn't get her out of his head, and he missed her when she wasn't around. It was more exasperating then anything he'd ever faced. He'd rather face the Apostles of the Stars by himself, then deal with all these emotions!

The only thing was, that the lady of his affections was constantly refusing his hand or feelings. He couldn't blame her of course, since his reputation with women was not upstanding in the least. He didn't know if Rinslet would ever feel the same about him as he did about her, he could sense sometimes that she cared about him, and other times she seemed to just fight her feelings, like she wasn't ready for this, yet. But that was okay with him, he could wait…he could wait an eternity for her. Love had a way of being long-lasting like that…

"Oh, stop looking all somber like that." Her voice came at him suddenly, as she exited the bathroom in a terrycloth white robe, a towel wrapped around her hair, and little fluffy pink slippers on her dainty feet. Hazard's breath had a hard time catching up with him.

She looked back at him with those amazing green eyes of hers, a light smile on her face. "Get me some ice from the ice machine down the hall, will ya?"

He nodded, grabbing a nearby bucket she indicated. "Are you trying to get rid of me? If you lock me out, I can always get back in."

She frowned at him playfully, "I have every right to. I mean, this is **my** room after all."

Rins watched as his face got that sad puppy-dog look, that he didn't know, always had a funny way of melting her heart. Or perhaps he did, since he only used it around her…

"Don't worry, I won't lock you out, you headstrong lover boy." Watching as he perked up a little as he reached for the door.

She smiled after him and just as he turned the handle, she added, "And…when you return, I _might_ take you up on that massage offer…"

In all the time she'd known him, she'd never seen him move faster than he had at that moment, as he took off out the door, the wind at his heels.

Sighing, she took the towel off her head and proceeded to pat the remaining wetness out of her purple tresses. _Well, girl…you, the princess of thieves, espionage extraordinaire, will now be entering into unmarked territory. Hope I'm making the right decision here._ She had tried rationalizing it as much as possible, but the way he'd been in the shower, the way he had looked at her…she knew she couldn't fight it anymore: She had feelings for Jenos, and she had them for a long time. The way he was with other women, couldn't touch her hidden soul; she was too smart for those kinds of charms to work on her.

However, he was different with her than with other women. He treated her differently than any other man she'd ever met. Most men she was around would either treat her as an ally, an employee, an employer, or just as another dim-witted member of the fairer sex. _Or a piece of meat. _Jenos however…he would just think of her as of who she really was—she was Rinslet, that was all there was to it. He seemed to just accept that, to accept every part of her no matter how she acted or…pretended to act. She had at first thought that the strange feeling that seemed to come hand in hand with him, was just irritation, but soon she realized that it was the nicest kind of irritation she had ever felt. As a lyric from one of her favorite Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals went:

"_I know how it feels to have wings on your heels,  
And to fly down the street in a trance.  
You fly down a street on the chance that you meet,  
And you meet—not really by chance…" _

She sighed. _Yeah, I know how it feels, Anna._(1)_ Not in the same exact way, but I know how it feels._

"Uh-hmm," a voice cleared his throat from behind her.

She smiled before turning around, "Well that didn't take long. It's only been a few sec-onds…"

The words dried up in her throat, as she saw that the man standing behind her, next to the open window, wasn't Jenos.

The man standing there was around 5'9, he was dripping wet from the rain, wearing a long dark cloak with a gold pin that was shaped like a bird, holding it together. He had his hood off and his features showed, including his fair complexion, golden hair tied back in a unkempt ponytail, and piercing eyes as violet as the flower. He would have been extremely handsome to her, had it not been for the fact that she found men who came into her room without consent, with a rifle strapped to his back, highly unappealing.

She crossed her arms, her eyes slightly shifting to the pile of clothes on her bed that hid her gun beneath them. "Who are you? And what are you doing in my room?"

The man smiled, speaking with a distinct British accent. "You know, it's nice to see couples getting together and having the classical romance like you two have. It's like you and your man came out of a Barbara Cartland or Victoria Holt novel(2). There is honestly too many break-ups and divorces nowadays. You two would have made a smashing pair. It's just such a pity—that I have to come between you."

Maybe it was the way the man spoke, or when he reached for his gun, but either caused Rinslet to realize this was no time for witty banter with strangers. This man meant business—well, so did she!

She made a sudden dash for the bed, tossing a nearby chair at the man as a distraction. Grabbing through the clothes without looking, she rushed through it, feeling for the cold metal of the gun but instead, feeling the warmth of flesh…

Jumping back, she looked with astonishment, as the man who once stood seven feet behind her—was now sitting on her bed, her gun in his hand!

"Looking for this, my dear?" He dangled her pistol in front of her face.

She took a step back. _How the heck did he got there so fast?! I didn't even see him move!_

Slipping the gun into his belt beneath his cloak, the blond stood up, coming toward her. "Now, if you don't want to make this any harder on yourself, you'll listen to me and stop attracting attention."

His eyes glowed purple for a second, before he suddenly disappeared from her sight, only to appear behind her, his rough hand somehow having captured her wrists, holding them high above her head in an unrelenting grip, the other arm wrapped around her waist! Snarling up at him, she tried to pull away, but it was no use. "What do you want from me?! Who are you?!"

"Well, the name's Cline, Clearington Cline. You can just call me Cline though. Why I'm here? Well…I'm here to take your life. Now don't let that get us off to a bad start though; you seem like a nice girl, and I can be a nice guy. I'll be a gentleman, and let you choose how you want to do this. How's that?"

_This has got to be a joke! _Rins twisted around to look the guy, this Cline, in the eye, trying to look as innocent, feminine, and weak as possible. "Um, Can't we talk about this, Cline-san?" she said, putting on her best faux smile.

He looked away thoughtfully as if considering it. "We could if you want, but I always found death a depressing subject, don't 'cha know?"

She sighed; well the "pleading woman" approach didn't work. This guy was definitely a professional. _Okay then, its time to get serious unless you want this to end in a mess. _

She smiled again, "Well that's alright, we don't have to talk—at all."

Quickly hoisting herself up by the hands that held her wrists, Rinslet flipped her legs into the air, over the astonished blonde's head, to land behind him, his arms having to let go of her from the twisted position she had put him in. Grabbing her gun from his waist, she aimed it at his left leg, firing without hesitation.

Cline smiled, his eyes glowing once again…

Suddenly, right before her eyes, the British assassin disappeared! As the bullet ricocheted off the hardwood floor where his leg had been, Rins kept her gun cocked and close to her.

_Where'd he go?_ She looked around her, the man was nowhere in sight. As if he vanished into thin air! She kept her guard up, simultaneously backing up to the door. Well, whatever was going on, she was getting out of here. Chancing a look down, she smiled, remembering that she was wearing slippers and her small fluffy white robe, which didn't leave much to the imagination. Jenos was going to have a field day. _Where the heck is that guy? He had to have heard that shot._

She reached behind her with one hand to grasp the door knob, keeping the other firmly on her Derringer firearm. However, she just couldn't get a feel on the knob. Was there something blocking it?

Looking down, she gasped and did an about-face away from the door in horror and surprise.

Cline smiled at her, his violet eyes shining with the excitement of the chase as he gripped the door knob firmly, and with one swift movement—broke it clean off, locking them both inside!

He threw the useless handle to the ground, smiling up at the clearly shaken Rins, who tried to keep her gun steady in her shock. "Now, now milady, where did you think you were going?"

_What in heaven and earth is he? Does he have some kind of power of invisibility? There's no way a normal person could have gotten behind me like that. Does he have some kind of special power? Tao, perhaps? But I've never seen a Taoist like him, their powers usually seem to do with ki, but this is just…I don't know what this is._

Clearington sighed at her confusion, "Well, since you are my prey, I guess you do have a right to know about your predator. I am a gentleman, and I shall give the lady an explanation she deserves. You see, I am part of an organization known as PHOENIX."

"PHOENIX? I'm not sure I'm familiar with that group." She answered back, the name drawing a blank for the lady thief.

"Probably not…we try to keep a low profile. It keeps us out of the limelight of spineless factions like Chronos. I am an upper level agent of PHOENIX known as a Crisalide, which is basically the equivalent of a Chronos Number. Every Crisalide has a special power that is…well, it's kind of hard to explain in the little time we have, but let's just say that we have powers beyond those of mortal men. Mine has to do with time, space and vision."

"Time and space? Like time travel or something?"

"Something like that. At my lowest form, I can see time as it has stopped, and therefore use my skills even sharper than before. I can shoot a target going 90 mph the same as one going less than 1 mph. However, in my second form, I can actually make a time field with my body's energy, and stop time within an area up to a one kilometer radius. Everything in the field is then at a complete standstill except myself, and I can do or go wherever I want for as long as I want, as long as I stay in the field. Time doesn't exist in the field, so to you, it will seem as if I simply disappeared and reappeared again; to you it will seem instantaneous. You won't even notice the change unless you looked at the clocks or your watch, then you would notice they have stopped moving. When I release the field, I appear visible again, you and I brought together back into time once more. Does this explanation help to ease your confusion?"

She blinked at him once then shrugged, "It would, if it was true. I mean, time fields? Come on!"

"If you look at your watch, you'll notice its 10 minutes off from the clock in the church across the way."

Risking a look in the direction of the window, then doing a double-take on her watch, she was surprised to see that what he had said was true. And her watch was never off; it had to be to the minute for the line of work she was in. Slowly, she looked up at him, realizing that everything he had been saying was—true. "That's one amazing…talent, Cline."

He smiled back at her, "It is quite useful I guess, but I'd rather work without it. I was good at what I did without the hocus pocus, the time vision powers just accent me. However, you do know what this means for you doesn't it?"

At that second he disappeared once again, only to reappear behind her, her gun once again in his hand. He whispered into her ear, "I enjoyed our little talk, I always like to get to know my victims before I kill them, especially the ladies. However, the night grows short, and you have nowhere to run. You see, milady…"

As he turned her head so that his violet eyes looked into her jade ones, she shuddered from the cold cruel light that existed there. _This British wanker really is going to __**kill**__ me, isn't he?_

"…for you, time has run out."

* * *

Time was going so slowly for Jenos that it was starting to feel as if it'd stopped. He tried to be a patient man, but _two_ broken ice machines!? This was ridiculous! He had to go from one area to another trying to find a working machine, finally finding one all the way on the first floor.

It had already been fifteen minutes, Rinslet might get tired of waiting for him and that would be disastrous. Not that he expected something tonight or anything. No, he could wait for that type of play till she was ready. It was just that, from her tone of talk, she sounded—dare he say it—serious, about taking a big step further in their relationship. If that were true, then that would be better than sex any day…

As he filled up the container with ice, he heard two young ladies who stayed on the same floor as Rins, come down the stairs, giggling behind him as they walked past. "Did you here all that commotion in Room 307?"

"Yeah, sounded like an explosion or something."

"Yeah, an explosion—of _hormones_! You know she's probably getting it on with somebody."

The other girl sighed as they went out of hearing range, "Some girls get all the luck…"

Jenos put the bucket on top of the ice machine, before taking the steps two at a time. Room 307 was Rins' room and as far as he knew he had left her alone. The girls might have been on to something when they said they heard an explosion, but came to the wrong conclusion. Rins wasn't that type of girl, even if she had been with another man that night. No…his instincts told him something was wrong, and these instincts had served him well in his line of business.

Pulling out Excelion from his pocket, he slipped his hand into the cat-like glove with practiced ease. _If this is all a wild goose chase, and she just kicked over a table or something, she's going to kill me if I go in there guns blazing. _But if she was really in trouble…He couldn't take that risk.

Finally making it to the third floor, he raced over to her room to find the door closed tight and locked. _Come on, Rins! I thought you weren't going to lock it!_

He knocked on the door heavily, "Rins, it's me. Open up would you?"

He frowned as no answer came to his call.

"Rinslet, come on! Look, I'm not leaving till you open this door. Are you okay in there?"

Still no answer.

He began banging with his fist. "Rins! Don't make me break down this door!"

This time, he could here scuffling from the inside of the room, along with the sound of Rins' voice calling out to him restlessly, "Get out of here, Hazard! You're not wanted here."

He frowned, "But Rinslet—"

She cut him off hurriedly before he could even request an explanation. "That's Walker-san to you. You're an eyesore, Hazard. I can't stand to look at those roman numerals anymore, engraved like a medal stuck permanently on the left side of your chest. It's disgusting! Go back to Chronos, Number VII!"

His face was full of confusion at the backlash. What was she talking about? Did he make her mad or something?

"Uh, Rins is there something wrong? Did I—?"

This time her voice was almost hysterical, "Just go! And take your shiny Gungnir Chronos gun with you!"

This time something clicked within Jenos' head. Rinslet was making a lot of incorrect references, using the wrong names, and positions—things she should know by heart, being in the kind of business she was in…

She knew that his Chronos weapon was a garrote-wire glove, not a gun, and that it was named "Excelion"; "Gungnir" was the name of Number II, Belze's weapon. And it had been she that had pointed out the interesting fact; that his "Lucky VII" Chronos tattoo was on the **right** side of his chest, in comparison to Train's "Unlucky XIII" tattoo on the left. She of all people would know that.

Putting these incongruities together, along with Rinslet's strange behavior (she hardly ever got hysterical), and the reports of loud noises and "explosions" in her room, he came to a solid conclusion. Not only was something wrong, and the woman he loved was in danger, but also that the person responsible…was still in the room with her.

Gritting his teeth with anger, he thought to actually break down the door, but knew that would be foolish and might cause his lavender-haired beauty to be seriously harmed. Thinking it through, he realized that she had been trying to do two things: warn him of the true situation inside, and keep her captor appeased. That meant that the captor had the upper hand, which wasn't easy to get with the phantom thief whose blood ran with independence and feistiness.

Faced with all these facts, he put a plan together quickly in his head, meanwhile answering angrily at the door, "Fine! I'll go! Don't expect me to come back either, Rinslet. I'm surprised I even found you remotely interesting. Well, guess what? I was _never _sincere with you; I always liked Sephiria more than you anyway. This is goodbye, _Walker-san_."

Jenos then stalked off in a light run, not down the stairs toward the exit, but up to the roof. He had to know what the situation and who was in the room with Rins. _Please be okay, baby. Just wait till I get there. _

Barging through the door onto the rooftop, rain soaked him to the bone, but he didn't care. He instantly began punching numbers on his cell phone. He wasn't going to call anyone in Chronos, this didn't concern them. However, having some back-up was always a good idea, and he knew some people who were in town that might be willing to take the job.

He listened for awhile to the line ring for Heartnet's cell, only to hear the beep for his voice mail. He cursed under his breath, _what is that hell raiser doing, taking a nap? _He then switched to Sven's phone number, only to get an 'out-of-order' message. _Well, that's not surprising. The guy probably didn't even pay his phone bill this month with his bad luck. What did he expect traveling in the company of the famed Black Cat? That guy is double bad luck in more ways than one. _

Well, he couldn't wait for them and he could probably handle this job on his own, but just in case, he left a message with Train, if the guy ever woke up from whatever he was doing.

Then, using the agility he had be trained for, Jenos swung himself off the roof and onto the nearby fire escape, careful to avoid making noise as he slid and swung down the slick metal rungs, choosing the faster route down rather than the safer. _It's a good thing the fire escape is positioned near her room, or I might have had too do some really magical moves that might scare her more than impress her._

Getting to the window with record speed, he was surprised to see it was already slightly open. _So that's how the guy got in—bastard._ Taking a slight look through the window, he gritted teeth hard, his heart trembling with a mixture of rage and apprehension at what he saw.

* * *

Rinslet squeezed her fists frustratingly as she heard Jenos leave, but she was glad he had caught her hints. The day he and Sephiria got into a relationship—Hell would form snow drifts. And what he said about being insincere…it keyed in to what he said in the shower:

"…_the one thing you must never doubt—is my sincerity." _

He had said that to grab her attention, and tell her he was on his way. _Please be careful Jenos, even together, I don't know if we can take on this guy. _He's got the power of time in the palm of his hand, and he seems very versatile in knowing how to use it.

They guy in mind, slowly took the hunting knife from her throat, yet kept his close hold onto her. "That's a good girl; you're an excellent actress. As expected from the famous phantom thief and saboteur, Rinslet Walker. It's a good thing you cooperated, or I would have had to kill your Chronos boyfriend as well, and that would have been a great shame now, wouldn't it?"

She tried to pull away from him viciously, but to no avail. "Go to Hell, you vomited piece of crap!"

Cline smiled at her words and placed his knife back in its sheath around his ankle, before twirling her away with a twist so that she faced him, keeping a firm grasp on her wrists, holding them again above her head. "My, my you have such a dirty mouth, milady. I've truly enjoyed our time together, however, I'm afraid that it is time I end this. If you don't move too much, I'll try to make this as quick and as painless as possible. I am a professional after all."

She watched in alarm and horror as he reached within his cloak and pulled out a Glock 32, the handgun's barrel aimed straight at her heart!

"Wait! W-Why are you even doing this? We've never even met until tonight!"

The blond blinked at her statement, raising the gun upwards in wait, as if thinking about it. "This has nothing to do with anything between us, milady. This is simply…a business transaction."

A "business transaction"? She had understood that he was an assassin, but for who? Who would want to see her dead, and have enough money to pay for it? There was more to this than met the eye. What was this PHOENIX?

Rins was suddenly brought back by the sound of the gun's safety catch being pulled off. Looking at him and the gun's barrel once more, she could only wrestle all the more in her frustration, in response to the fear that was beginning to grip her. _Where are you, Jenos? If I die alone here, I am so going to get up from the grave, haunt you for all your days, and __**then **__kill you! _

"It was nice to meet you, Ms. Walker. I guess this is—what do you Japs say? Oh yes—_Sayonara_…"

Rins thought of everything she could, from every angle. If she screamed, he'd get agitated, and no one would notice or be able to do anything in time anyway. She had no room to maneuver and fight back, and even if she could he would just warp time into his favor. She had no weapons and unless nature decided to be kind today, and send a bolt of lightning through the building to hit him…there was absolutely nothing she could do. She was helpless, and he knew it.

The glare of the gun's metal reflected in her olive eyes, but she couldn't close them. She wouldn't! She would see this through till the end…_even if this means that I die without telling Jenos how I really feel…_

Cline sighed as he pulled the trigger, without any hesitation, as always…

_BANG!_

Rinslet watched in shock at the gun went off—and the bullet shot off to the left, missing her by a whole five feet!

* * *

Clearington frowned at his arm, at the last minute his trigger hand had been pulled by an unseen force!

_What the heck? Was this Llewellyn's work again? That guy and his insufferable mind powers! Had he finished his work and come over to annoy him? It wouldn't be the first time…_

But as he tried to pull his arm down, he felt it not held by telekinetic means, but by something else. It was almost as if his arm was snagged on something…

That's when he saw it. The thin, blue tinged wire wrapped around his wrist, glinting in the moonlight that stubbornly filtered itself through the rain clouds.

Tracing the wire, with his eyes, he was surprised to see more wires. They twisted and turned throughout the room, and different angles and rotations, interweaving around his body. How had he missed them?

Rins had already figured out what happened, and relaxed visibly, a light smirk on her face.

Cline tried pulling his arm harder, but no leeway was given, these wires weren't weak, they weren't made of any normal metal either; and no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't get loose from the tangle!

"I wouldn't do that, unless you want your head to come clean of your body." A new voice spoke.

Turning towards the voice's direction, he suddenly felt a slight pressure around his throat. Looking down ever so slightly, he saw a wire had been looped around it—one that had been connected tautly with the wire coiled around his arm. If he pulled anymore, the wire around his neck would get tired, either garroting him to death, or cutting right through his neck and beheading him as effectively as any guillotine.

Jenos stepped from out the shadows near the window, holding the Excelion's Orichalcon wires nimbly in his gloved hand. The usual free and charismatic look was gone from his face, and only silent fury remained. He was dripping wet, hungry,and mad as Hell…

Cline smirked, recognizing him immediately, "So…the Chronos Number did return when he said he wouldn't. My my, so you came to rescue your lady love did you? Well, this is really a shame; I don't like having to kill unnecessary people.

Hazard didn't say anything, the wires glinted and shined almost supernaturally, as he pulled and twisted them with a flick of his wrist.

Suddenly, the British sniper hissed in abrupt pain, as the wires collapsed and tightened on one another. They twisted and constricted around his body, and one practically crushing his wrists, making him let go of both Rinslet and the gun.

As the girl fell to the ground, she was caught softly by another set of the Excelion's strings, set an almost life-size cat's cradle. She looked over to Jenos, but was surprised to see such a dark look consume his features.

"You should know…it's taking ALL my self-control right now, not to snap you to pieces." Number VII looked at the captured assassin with venom, his hand trembling as he tried to keep a grip on his anger.

He looked down at Rins, a light smile coming through. "You alright, Rins baby?"

She picked herself up and made her way through the thicket of wires towards him, "You know, for a while there I thought you'd actually gone off with Sephiria."

"Like that would ever happen…girl's not even my type. And me? Use a gun? How could you ever suppose such a thing?"

Finally getting by his side, she went back to the business at hand. "What are you going to do with him?" she nodded to Cline.

At the mention of the assassin who had dared come after his Rins-chan, Jenos flicked his gloved finger ever so, making the strings painfully tighter, letting them start to cut slowly through cloth and exposed flesh. "I would kill him on the spot, but I think I'll torture him first and make him spill his guts, proverbially first, and then…maybe literally. You'd better turn your head, baby. I don't want you to have any nightmares."

She shook her head ruefully, "Sorry, I'd rather stay right where I am. I'm the one who had the gun pointed at her chest, after all."

Cline couldn't hold it anymore and proceeded to laugh aloud. "You guys sound so cute and naive…it's ridiculous!"

The two looked at him strangely, "What's so funny?" Hazard looked at him with a harsh eye.

"You Chronos Numbers…you're always underestimating your opponents. Torture? How can you torture me, when you haven't caught me yet?" Clearington smirked as his eyes lit up, and he completely vanished, the wires all going slack!

"What the heck?" Jenos looked at the empty space in astonishment. Drawing his string back into his hand, he looked around him keeping his guard up.

Rins stood guarding his back, "Watch out Hazard, this guy can control time."

He had to do a double take, "He can control—_what_?"

"The lady said I have the power to control time. Listen up next time, Number VII!" Cline reappeared right in from of Jenos, taking hold of his arm and throwing him promptly over his shoulder to the ground! Right before kneeing him heavily in the stomach!

The raven-haired Eraser gasped in anguish from the sudden impact, but using his hand, flung his wires toward his attacker's body, promptly coiling around him and throwing him aside into the wall.

Rins took this chance to take back her gun once again, which had fallen from Cline's person. "I'm so tired of you, right now!"

She shot the derringer twice, but neither of the bullets hit their intended target. The blond disappeared once again, only to reappear behind her, knocking the gun from her hand, sending it crashing out the third-story window!

He was about to grab her arm, when he felt heavy resistance. Looking to his wrist, he saw a tendril of wires wrapped around it tightly, holding it back.

"Your fight's with me!" Jenos said, pulling Excelion toward him, keeping the strings taunt. "I can cut off your hand if I wished, but I'd rather you come along quietly, so I don't get blood on the lovely lady."

Cline smiled, vanishing once again and reappearing in front of him. "Now we wouldn't want that, do we now?"

Punching him square in the face, Clearington then proceeded to kick him in his stomach, and then made a high leg kick to the man's jaw. Jenos trying his best to block him, matching his fighting tactics tit-for-tat, it took all his speed and agility to try to keep up with the gunman, and even then, he wasn't quite fast enough! _Who was this guy, and what the heck does he want? His moves and that disappearing act—can he truly control time?_

As if hearing his thoughts, the blond suddenly struck out, grabbing him by his throat and pushing him to the ground! Planting a foot on both of his arms, he pinned him there. "The name's Clearington Cline, PHOENIX agent. Who do I have the honor of fighting?"

"Let him go!" Out of the blue, Rins grabbed the assassin's hands, trying to get him to let go of the young man's throat. But the man simply threw his arm, tossing her crushingly into a nearby corner.

The man's slight movement allowed Jenos to flip his legs around the man's neck and throw him off, while simultaneously flipping back onto his feet. Breathing in and out raggedly, he looked at his foe with poison in his eyes. "Jenos Hazard, Chronos Number VII, and you and your organization are going to wish they'd never heard of me, if you ever throw her like that again."

Cline picked himself up and vanished once again, this time reappearing by the open window, holding Rins precariously by one arm, over the cold empty streets below! "Is that so? Chronos could strengthen its forces tenfold and it still couldn't stand up to one-forth of PHOENIX. Now, drop your weapon or she's sidewalk stroganoff."

Jenos looked at him harshly, "You'll drop her anyway."

The blond seemed to think about it, "Hmm—yeah, I guess I would." He said before promptly letting go of Rins arm.

The violet-haired woman screamed as she fell towards the ground below, not noticing the blue-tinged wires curling around her waist. As she felt the resistance yank her upward in midair, she saw Jenos hurtling towards her from the sky, having thrown Cline back with a fast kick of his own and crashing through the window. Grabbing the young woman, he threw his body towards a nearby roof ten feet away, and dropping into a roll, skidding against the wet tiles.

Slowly picking himself up, he helped the girl up as well, checking her for bruises and cuts. "You okay, baby?"

She brushed herself off testily, now thoroughly soaked by the rain. "No, I _enjoy_ getting thrown out of third story windows and falling desperately to the ground…Of course I'm not okay!"

He smiled at her wryly, "Well, that's nice to know."

Jenos then promptly took her into his arms and began to run across the rooftops, despite her protests. "Put me down, lover boy! I can run on my own!"

"I know you can, hon. But he's after you, more than me. You're his main target. So…for once, could you just let me protect you?" he asked her truthfully.

She was instantly shut up by his earnestness, and just decidedly nodded._ I've heard him promise to protect me several times, but I just thought it was some sort of bravado he put on to impress me. He's actually serious about this…_

"I'm going to head for this old abandoned church on the outside of town, and we can regroup there. It used to be a—"

_BANG!_

Rins was shocked by the sudden loud gunshot, and even more by Jenos' outcry in response. She felt him lurch forward a little, but he kept going, faster, and slightly favoring his left leg. Hunching over to look at his right, she was shocked to seeing blood leaking from a hole in his thigh, staining his pants dark. "Jenos, you've been shot!"

He nodded, keeping the pace, "Yeah, I know. The guy's following us, like I guessed he would."

As if to reflect his words, two more gunshots were heard; these two were aimed at his shoulders…

Rins shrieked slightly, seeing the blood spurt from his body, some splattering on her face. Thrown slightly by the impact, he gritted his teeth at the pain, but still kept going.

"Jenos, let me go now! I can run by myself!"

However, it was obvious he was ignoring her word. He simply went on as if nothing had happened. She knew that he knew he couldn't defend himself against the bullets, because he was defending her instead! He was holding her close, using his body to cover her own, making sure she stayed unharmed. He was protecting her…

_BANG!_

This shot plunged into his side, sending him to one knee! He gasped and breathed slowly, trying to catch his breath. And it was at this moment, when his grip was weakest, that Rinslet freed herself from his grasp.

* * *

Cline hopped from roof to roof, after the rapidly fleeing couple. Taking out a semi-automatic from his boot, and using his first form of time vision, he shot quickly and silently at his targets, intent on slowing them down.

The first few shots had been aimed at the man in non-lethal areas, but enough to bring him down. However, the man didn't stop! _My, he's a resilient one. I guess I'll have to take this up a notch._

He started to aim for the man's other leg, when he suddenly saw him fall from the impact of the fourth bullet and the girl jump from out of his arms! _Well, if this isn't a break._ Shifting his gun slightly, he pulled the thrice, the barrel aimed at the woman thief's torso.

"Let's end this, milady."

* * *

Rins was only on her feet for a few seconds, when she heard the gunfire once again! _What the—_

She only had time to gasp, as Jenos once again covered her. He held her closely, like a parent holding a frightened child, making sure nothing happened to her.

He held her tightly, even as he felt the three hot metal bullets enter his body: one, plunging deep into his left lung, the second rupturing his spleen, and the third making direct contact with his pancreas. But—he still didn't let go.

In fact immediately after the gunfire ended, led by mostly his determination and adrenaline, Jenos took the shocked and stunned Rinslet back into his arms, and continued fleeing off as fast as his wounded body could take them.

Cline cursed the two and flew after them. _How the heck did that guy take all that? This is totally ridiculous!_ His anger flaring slightly, it sent his trigger finger into frenzy. _That guy's made me lose too many shots! Why can't he just __**die?!!!**_

The shots went one after another into the Chronos jerk's back, and the man kept jerking ever so from the impact, blood flying through the air and splattering upon the roofs to mix with the driving rain, but other than that he didn't slow down—not once! Even as he could hear the girl's screams for him to stop and put her down, he didn't slow down or stop. He just kept going…

"What is he immortal or something?" Clearington said in disbelief, hearing his gun start to click, telling him it was out of bullets.

Throwing the gun away in aggravation, he moved on, pressing his body to move even faster. _That was an ENTIRE clip I emptied into that guy, and I know they hit. You know what? This guy is getting on my last nerves!_

He thought, as he followed them in the direction of the old abandoned church.

* * *

Kicking open the weathered doors of the old church, Jenos carried Rinslet tiredly inside and out of the rain. The stone cathedral had stood unused for decades, weeds, wildflowers and grass grew though the cracks of the granite tiles, some of the stained glass windows were intact, while others were gone all together, the wooden pews had rotted and were falling apart from water damage, rain water came through the ceiling where cracks had formed, and nearby broken statues of angels and saints stood askew, still looking over the place of worship. Letting her down in the center of all this, he almost collapsed from pain and exhaustion.

"Jenos!" she rushed to hold him up, feeling his blood flow slickly onto her hands.

He sighed and smiled at her, heavy perspiration covering his face. "I'm sorry, Rins…I don't think I can carry…you anymore."

She looked at him fearfully, "Come on, Hazard. On your feet! We need to get you to a hospital!"

He shook his head, "Get out of here Rinslet…he's coming. I'll distract him as much as I can…"

Her green eyes went wide, looking at him with alarm, as if he were crazy, "Do you think I would leave you? You're the one that's hurt; we have to get you help. I can handle him—"

Suddenly, he pushed her away with as much force as he could muster, before coughing violently, spilling crimson blood onto the ground. "Run as far and as fast as you can. Find Train, Sven and Eve; tell them what happened. They'll help you. If you can, send word to Chronos about this guy and his organization. They definitely need to know. I'll try to hold him off for as long as I'm able."

She looked at him, tears threatening to run down her cheeks. "But Jenos…"

He turned away from her slightly, a ragged smile gracing his face. "It's okay, Rins…it…it doesn't matter anymore. Just know one thing…"

As she realized what he was saying, the tears fell, followed by many more. But then she was in his arms and he was holding her close to his body, his scent filling her wonderfully to the brim. He whispered in her ear, "I love you Rinslet Walker, and I have for a very long time. I would have given up…_**anything**_ for you. And tonight—I would have asked you…to be my wife…"

A sob caught in her throat, as she listened to his heartfelt words.

He looked at her, before holding her away. "But instead, I'm going to ask you to run. I need you to run as fast as you can. Can you promise me that?"

She balled her fists aggravated at her inability to do something to help the situation. Nodding sadly, she could only answer "Y-Yes…"

He nodded at her smiling. She then turned from him, running out the back of the church as fast as she could.

_Be safe, Rins. I regret I can't marry you as I wished, but I will protect you…I always have._ He thought as he watched her leave.

A twang on one of his set wires, told him that his opponent had arrived. He turned, Excelion at the ready.

First, two shots came at him, which he promptly cut to pieces with a swirl of his hand, the metal strings dancing in the air as they had been made to.

"Hmph, so you still have the energy to fight, huh?" Cline smiled as he walked through the church doors.

"You'd better believe it, buddy…" Jenos jumped into the air, swinging out his clawed fingers sending his wires flying against his enemy. Clearington easily dodged the attack and instead of using his feet, jumped off a rotted pew into the air. Weaving almost superhumanly through the constant assault of keen wires and meeting Jenos in midair, he struck out with a swift kick to the man's injured side.

Jenos cried out in agony, falling back to the ground with a crash. Struggling to pick himself up from the ground, he shook his head trying to clear the lights flashing in front of his eyes. _Man, I'm out of it today. Come on Hazard, you're acting like an old man! _

Suddenly, he felt Cline grab him by his hair, tossing him into the nearby stone wall! "You just don't know when you're outclassed, do you?"

Jenos rolled from off the ground, and threw himself at the British assassin, raking the man's body deeply with racing speed, drawing blood with his Orichalcon claws. "And you don't know who you're dealing with either."

Pushing his hand out, he sent his metal strings whipping over to the nearest statue, coiling tightly around it. Then, with expert skill, he twirled it towards his enemy; letting them do their thing of their own will, yet controlling them with the strictest restraint possible.

Just before the statue came into contact, the PHOENIX agent invoked one of his time fields, vanishing from the dimension that human eyes could see.

VII cursed angrily, looking around him swiftly, for where his opponent would strike from next. "This is plain cheating. How am I supposed to fight a guy who can control time?"

He unexpectedly felt a tap on the shoulder and a cold metal object hitting his right arm. The agent spoke lightly in his ear, having reappeared in real time. "The answer to that is…you can't."

Pulling the trigger of his latest gun (which he seemed to have an endless supply of), he shot straight through Jenos' forearm and again through his left thigh, before using a roundhouse kick to send the Chronos Number across the room, hitting the wrecked alter with a slam! Jenos hissed at the sudden pain of the last two shots, more blood pouring from his body. Gritting his teeth, he took stock of himself: Even if he did have the strength to move, his fighting arm was now kaput, and his legs were no better. He wasn't going anywhere soon, and he could only hope he had given Rins enough time to hide and get help. _I tried my best, baby…I'm just sorry my best—wasn't good enough…_

Cline aimed his gun for the fallen man's chest. "I must applaud you, you gave quite a fight, and have taken more bullets and lived more than any person I can think of at the moment, but in the end this would have been the result. It's been sweet, Number VII."

_BANG!_

As the assassin pulled the trigger, Jenos knew that he didn't have enough energy to make a run for it. He had known his fate and accepted it, the moment the first bullet sank into his body. When Rins had jumped from his arms, he had known that she would be the assassin's first target, and he would be shooting to kill. He hadn't had time to deflect the shots, especially in his wounded condition. He had done the only thing that he could do, what his instinct led him to do. He had lost count of how many bullets he had taken, or where they were. From then on, it was just impulse…

Closing his eyes, he waited for the inevitable.

* * *

He waited for longer than necessary, and when the inevitable didn't come, he slowly began to open his eyes. The sight he saw, shocked his system…

"Rins? Rinslet!"

The lavender-haired woman leaned over him as a shield, her eyes closed a bit as if trying to conquer some pain that had come over her. It didn't take him long to tell what she had done.

"You idiot! I told you to go! Why?! Why Rinslet, did you come back?" He shouted, glad she had returned to him, but crushed by the sacrifice she had committed.

Falling to his side, she sighed as the pain from the mortal bullet that had nicked her heart and punctured her lung, seemed to ebb slightly. "Do you honestly think…I would leave you to…die alone?"

He looked at her in shock, a lone tear welling in his eye. "Rins…"

She gazed up at him smiling, "I love you Jenos, and I'm not going to leave you. I did as I promised. I ran as fast I could…I just went to get something from my secret stash that I hid in the park, for a mission or emergencies."

Out of her hand, a metal ball rolled onto the floor, a small metal ring around her finger. Jenos could see what it was, but he didn't care. The woman he loved, loved him back! That was all he truly cared about…

Cline, who had been watching the touching scene, took a couple minutes to recognize what the object was. _What the heck? Is that a—_

_BOOM!!!_

He hardly had time to finish his thought, before the grenade exploded! Rocking the ground, the blast shockwave hit the dilapidated church walls, causing them to collapse sending stone and glass everywhere; closing Jenos and Rins in the inner half—practically cut off from the world by a pile of rocks and rubble…

* * *

In that little inner area, the two laid next to each other on the steps of the weed-overgrown alter. The moonlight shone through the cracks in the ceiling, the few intact sculptures and stained glass looked down at them.

Rins sighed; she knew that nothing could have saved Jenos. Even before she had taken that shot for him, he would have never have survived. However, that didn't seem to matter to her right then. Her love had made her act—and she always had been the type to listen to her heart…

"I…I must look…a mess, huh?" she sighed, thinking of all the blood, dirt, and glass that must be on her by now. It felt like only fifteen minutes ago that she had taken that wonderful shower.

"Honey…you never looked so beautiful…" He smiled at her, flinching slightly from the pain, as a rivulet of blood flowed from the side of his mouth,

She looked down at herself slowly, ignoring the pain that came from the opening in her back. She smiled, once she saw herself. She had completely forgotten that she had been wearing only a little white robe all this time. The robe once immaculately white, was now ruined, torn, and stained, and had all but come completely apart. She left hardly anything to the imagination of the man lying beside her…but somehow, she didn't mind. She loved him, and now—at this moment—that was all that mattered.

"Y-You know…I never thought…it'd end like this." She smiled, snuggling closer to him, to try to halt the chill that was beginning to come over her.

He shifted her hair from her face with his good hand, "Don't think…of it as the end, but…as a new beginning."

He coughed a little more, his lungs having a hard time breathing past all the blood that was leaking into them. "If this had…happened to me yesterday, I would have had regrets. But now…with you beside me…I truly have no regrets at all. Oh…I love you, Rins…and I think I always have…I just couldn't realize it."

"Well…are you going…to ask me?" she asked the man lying beside her.

"W-What?" Jenos looked at her reverently, even as his blood began to pool under him, staining sacred ground.

"The…the question you were…going to ask me…tonight."

"Well…its kind of…wrong time and place isn't it?"

"What other time is there? And…what better place?"

He laughed lightly at that, "I guess you're right. Well…Ms. Walker, will you… marry me?"

She smiled, struggling to keep her eyes open. "You don't know how…happy that makes me, Jenos. I also…love you. It's a real shame…it took me this long…to accept it. I just want to be with you…for us, to be together."

He leaned on her bare shoulder slightly, the skin cold but still holding that sweet smell. "Then, I swear on whatever breath is left in me…from now on…we will always be…together…forever."

She snuggled more tiredly, hearing his heart beat against her very slowly, but still steady. "Then I…also have—no regrets. The answer is yes…I vow to love you, and be with you for always."

He sighed contentedly, his eyes also struggling to stay cognizant. "I guess I do have…one regret."

"And…what is that?" she murmured slightly.

He tilted her head up as much as he could so that their eyes met. He noticed that her eyes weren't as bright as before, but a slight sparkle still held up there. "I only wish…I could…just kiss your lips…one more time."

She smiled, "What's stopping…you?"

She lifted up her hands slowly—the metal ring from the grenade, still on her left ring-finger—to his face, moving him even closer to her. He smiled and leisurely touched his blood-stained lips to hers, and though they were cold, the fire of their passion was enough for them. They had said their vows, and taken their kiss, their love as a bond—underneath the curling arcs of the old church, the cracked stone angels as their only marital witnesses…

* * *

Clearington Cline sat up, the explosion having startled him a bit, blowing him into the churchyard, but he was pretty much no worse for wear. He knew the sounds of the explosion and all the commotion that had gone on would attract the attention of the local law enforcement, and that wasn't something that he felt like dealing with as of now.

Making his way into the collapsed church ruins, he sighed at the look of all the crushed stones sealing him of from the pair that was trapped on the other side. Placing a time field around the church, he then began to move the rocks, one at a time. After about a minute, he found one stone that when removed, caused a rockslide that gave him access to the closed off section of the derelict church.

Stepping into the shadowy moonlit dimness, he could see the couple was lying where he left them. They didn't move as he walked closer, which was a good sign in a way…

Standing over the woman and the man, he looked at them silently, observing that they had lain close to each other, holding hands tightly, looking peaceful as if this was the first night as newlyweds.

He could tell from their pallor coloring and their complete lack of warmth that they were dead, but out of habit he put a finger to their necks, checking their pulses.

Finding nothing, he sighed "Already dead, are ya? Well, just to be sure no one wants to perform a miracle in the church tonight…"

He took a small revolver from his second side holster, and quickly and simply shot both of them, once through the heart. Neither moved, unfeeling to the bullet piercing their chests.

Putting his weapon away, he turned and walked out the collapsed chamber, out the church and into the rain-filled night. Leaping onto a nearby rooftop, he canceled the time field with a wink of his eye, and not a minute too soon as he began hearing sirens closing in.

Turning his back and putting his hood over his head, he made his way, a shadowy figure, nonchalantly walking across the rooftops. Taking his cell phone from his pocket, he called Dante. "Job's done, Stage two for me is complete. What about you?"

He heard the man sigh, "My part is done, but Shinigami is still—"

Cline rolled his eyes, "That man is sick, sometimes I think he likes his job a little **too** much."

"Yeah…look, we'll meet you at the gathering place soon, in an hour at most. I might have to drag him out of there, but we'll be there."

He nodded in response, "Got it, see you then."

Closing his phone and putting it in his pocket, his mind flitted back to the couple he had killed that night. _Hmm, those two…they were more like a Shakespearean tragedy than a Victoria Holt novel. Oh well, in the end, the conclusion was the same—they would always be together. _

He whispered slightly into the night, as the rain hit and immersed his body with water, "Sleep peacefully—Romeo and Juliet…"

* * *

(1) The reference is made to the lyric above which comes from Rodgers & Hammerstein's "King and I". The singer is Anna, the star of the musical.

(2) Barbara Cartland and Victoria Holt were both famous British romance writers, writing over 1200 novels. Most of their works take place in the 13th-19th centuries.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_One and Two and Three…Four and One… _

Listening to the notes flying through the air, his mind followed them like a path through uncharted waters. It was the first he had heard this melody, but he was enjoying it quite thoroughly. Every slur and forte, ever crescendo and pianissimo, had a life and vibrancy about it that seemed to tell a story.

The charming thrums and beats of the piano, mixed with the distinct twisting and bending of the violin's strings, two instruments from two different sections, everything blended together to make one magnificent sound!

As Creed Diskenth heard each note, his mind recorded them, imprinting each sound onto his brain. And by the time the piece ended, his hands could play it just as well, if not better, than the pianist he had just heard.

Sighing with pleasure, the silver-haired young man was no longer interested in the rest of the concert, the single piece having taken all of his interest. Taking up his simple black leather jacket, Creed silently exited the empty balcony, taking to the moonlit rooftop. Humming the tune in his head, he walked lithely through the night, leaping from rooftop to rooftop with practiced ease.

He was glad he'd taken this night off and gone alone to enjoy himself. Being cooped up in that mansion with the rest of his Apostles these last few uneventful weeks, was making him go stir-crazy—and when he got like that, things began to get quite "_unhealthy_" for the people around him. Needless to say, Doctor would much rather be working on his endless projects than healing disemboweled Taoists, and so told Creed that he should take the night off.

Exchanging his usual attire for a simple long-sleeve black linen shirt, and a pair of black jeans, he'd done just that. Having a refreshing dinner, and then going to a classical concert, he had definitely experienced pleasure that night. The song that he'd heard had reached right into his soul. It seemed to show the sadness and loneliness that consumed his heart, yet the hidden hope that wished to reach out from within it as well.

Stopping to look up at the full moon, he sighed in unhappiness as thoughts of the man who never left his mind, came back full-blown like a dark flower in his chest. As if on cue, he felt a slight nudge on his ankle. Looking down, he was surprised to see a small stray cat, as black as midnight with eyes as golden as the sun. Smiling, he picked the cat up, and watched as it licked his hand. He sighed, "Why can't my Cat be like you, little one? Why can't he understand that I mean him no ill will, that only he and I are suited for one another? That we need each other, like you need food to survive?"

The cat only looked up at him, his mysterious eyes devoid of an answer to his questions, yet they were so deep they seemed to carry the secrets of the universe. With one agile, fluid movement, the black cat jumped from his arm and back onto the rooftop, quickly disappearing into the night. Creed followed it with his keen, but soft, blue eyes until it disappeared. Glancing up into the moonlight, he silently wondered what his dearest was doing, right at this moment. _It's too much to hope that he misses me…but if he only thinks about me, it will be enough to quench my troubled heart._

The man shook his head suddenly, wondering where all this flowery language was coming from. Must have been the concert tonight, the great classical composers can often stir up the most interesting things in you. He couldn't wait to play the piece at home in the sanctum of his rooms; for while the musicians of the concert hall needed an audience to play, he needed no such thing. There was only one person that he played for, and even though that person wasn't there in the flesh, he could always pretend…

"Train…" he whispered lightly under his breath, humming the tune that had somehow taken possession of him that night.

"Chopin's Etude in E Major, Op. 10 No. 3, otherwise known as "Tristesse"—quite a sad tune, yet somehow still so beautiful, do you not think so?" a new sultry voice with a light accent, commented on the sound of the light melody.

Creed smiled, not turning to face the newcomer. "The interpretation depends on who the interpreter is. I was wondering when you were going to say something—"

He turned around and looked at the young woman with a slight twinkle to his azure eyes. "—in view of the fact that you have been following me, since the restaurant."

The woman, who stood behind him, was about his age, her long hair, the color of the crystal blue ocean, was pushed up in a loose French twist held together by a silver, jewel-encrusted hairpin set in the shape of a scallop seashell, on top of that she had a set of flashing sea-green eyes to match. Her outfit was both mysterious and plain, a full black hooded cloak, with a gold pin shaped like a bird holding the ensemble together, and a gold antique cross pendent was around her neck. Her legs and feet, like the rest of her, were very shapely, and were shod with a pair of tall, but chic stiletto boots. She was quite pleasant to the eye as far as women go, and he knew that even Echidna would have had a jealous fit if she saw the female, but to him…the looks did nothing to stir his heart.

When she spoke again, he identified her sleek European accent as being French, saying more about her identity as a foreigner. "You have a pretty quick eye, Monsieur Creed Diskenth. I thought for sure, no one could tell."

Though he was immune to her charms, it didn't stop him from applying some of his own and finding out what the woman could possibly want with him. "A person would have to be less than blind, to not notice a beautiful woman like you."

She smiled daintily and walked closer to him, standing casually by his side. "That is a welcome and appreciated comment from you, _monsieur_. Flattery will get you everywhere."

He smiled enchantingly, running a light finger across her shoulder. "Since you clearly know my name, _mademoiselle_—it's only fair that you give me yours; I'm sure I will find it alluring."

"Then you must have it by all means." She held out her hand delicately. "My name is…Atlantica LaCroix."

He took her hand in his own and lightly kissed it. "_Enchanté_, LaCroix-san. Rather an interesting name, I must say it suits you well. Now, why would you take the time to seek out little old me?"

She laughed demurely, "Now we both know that there is nothing 'little' or 'old' about you, _monsieur_. But I must admit your charming voice and pleasant manners, of almost chivalric proportions, are quite rare in today's world. They would be sure to sweep any girl in Paris off their feet."

She lightly touched his shoulder and then quickly spun around him, so that she was on his opposite side but closer to his body. She whispered covertly in his ear, "However…I am _not_ from Paris."

He looked blinkingly back at her, as she swung herself from around him, and sat precariously on the edge of the roof, her legs swinging from off the side.

She spoke again, her tone going from appealing, to business-like. "We both know you have no interest in me whatsoever, and that this charismatic personality act you're putting on, is nothing but a façade…there is only room for one inamorato in your heart."

She looked over at him slyly, "A certain—_Chat Noir_, if I'm not correct?"

Creed looked over at her harshly, "Don't overstep your boundaries, woman. You have no right to say his name, no matter the language used. I grow tired of this senseless banter. What is it you wish of me?"

Atlantica walked to the edge of the roof, her leather boots clicking on the stone. "I have a proposition to offer you, one which concerns your future, as well as that of your beloved _Chat_, _monsieur_. However, I hate to talk out here battered by the elements. I'd be much more comfortable, in a lovely garden gazebo over a glass of white wine. Would you not agree?"

She smiled her crimson lips at him briefly, but not waiting for his answer, launched herself off the rooftop and into open air! Her legs flying like that of a ballet dancer, easily landed on the opposite roof, only to take off once again. She continued on her way, knowing for sure that the man would follow her. She had planned her words carefully, and knew that this particular man would now not leave her alone until he had heard out the rest of her conversation. She had him exactly where she wanted him, like she had all men…

As she glided over the jewel of a town, she looked down to the place in which she was headed. The garden restaurant in which she had reserved the whole establishment for tonight's meeting, was very beautiful to look at and very romantic in appeal and that was what she always looked for in wherever she stayed. She could see the waiters and chefs had done as ordered and set up a small table in the restaurant's garden gazebo, which was the place's crown jewel itself, set on the top of a grassy hill with fountain, ponds, and small streams filled with koi, surrounded it on all sides. The table was set up beautifully, with bowl of fresh bread, two plates of fresh salad with vinaigrette dressing, and two full glasses of white wine.

Atlantica landed softly on the ground, and walked slowly up the steps of the gazebo platform, the light of many fireflies dancing around her body and lighting up her eyes. Standing next to the table she looked back the way she had come, but saw nothing. She sighed and folded her arms in impatience. _What was taking him so long? She was going slowly enough so that he wouldn't lose her trail. Did she not do enough to capture his attention, and he had simply ignored the invitation? Men…they were the most frustrating of creatures…_

"Well, you certainly planned this meeting well, Mlle. LaCroix."

_Well, speak of the devil…_She turned around a flashed a sensual smile at the silver-haired man standing behind her leaning against one of the structure's white posts. "_Merci_, M. Diskenth. I like to do everything with some style. Won't you join me while I explain my purpose for seeking you out tonight?"

Creed matched her smile and nodded, while his mind quickly put everything into perspective. The woman had not as of yet, posed any sort of a threat to him, but of course, who knew what weapons were hidden underneath that cloak. Yet, his curiosity was wetted enough to ignore that. She knew who he was and what he was capable of. She knew better than to try anything stupid.

He bowed slightly and directed her to a seat. She smiled back and sat down in the chair he had pulled out for her. He then sat down and silently observed her behavior as she began eating her salad.

Atlantica watched Creed as she chewed, and saw that while he didn't eat anything, he gazed at her intensely, studying her and no doubt measuring her abilities, while waiting patiently for her to talk. She mentally shook her head in pity. _Men…such arrogance. _

"M. Diskenth, I have something to ask you. Do you really want to destroy Chronos? Or just become more powerful than them, and destroy them in the process?"

He blinked at her surprise. "Well, that question came from out of nowhere. I'd say closer to the second option."

Creed captivatingly flashed his cool ice blue eyes at her. "But why talk about me, when _you_ are so much more interesting. Now, I will answer no more of your questions, until you tell _me_ just who you are, **and** who sent you."

She sipped at her wine lightly, before gazing back at him with her own piercing eyes. "I have already told you my name. Now I shall tell you of my purpose. I have come to give you a proposition."

Creed took a small bite of a soft breadstick, "What kind of a proposition?"

"I know that you want power more than you want Chronos' head on a platter; you said so by your own admission. I work for an organization called PHOENIX. My superiors have asked me to offer what it is that you wish."

"PHOENIX, you say? And how can your group do anything more for me, than I can do for myself?" He said before taking a taste of his wine.

She pushed her hair behind her ear, "PHOENIX can give you power that Tao could never top. We are stronger than even your complex mind could imagine."

"Then why haven't you people taken out Chronos?" The man inquired. He had already tasted a little of everything. He had experienced most poisons, and had acquired a resistance to most; he however didn't taste anything malicious in any of his food. _Well, at least these PHOENIX people are honorable._

She hunched her shoulders, "We could take down Chronos anytime, but only when it's advantageous to us."

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "Really?"

She drank another swallow of wine, "So, will you consider joining us? You could still have your Apostles as your underlings, but you would be taking a big step into a much bigger world."

She watched the silver-haired swordsman take another drink of his wine in thought. "You don't have to give me an answer right now. You may think about it if you wish."

He nodded and put down his glass before standing up from the table in silence, "Mlle. LaCroix, I had a wonderful time, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline. You have said nothing that could convince me to join your little group, but thank you for the offer."

Atlantica cracked a stiff breadstick between her lithe fingers, "So you will not join us?"

Creed turned around and began to walk off the platform, "You are correct, LaCroix-san."

"Not even when the Cat does?"

The young man stopped in his tracks at the sound of the name, "_Train_…you mentioned his name before, and I told you then not to overstep your boundaries. I tire of reminding you."

The woman took note of the dangerous glint in the man's voice with an inward smile. _Men are so easy to rile up…_

Creed spoke again without moving, "What does this have to do with him?"

"This offer was not made to you alone. Operatives have been sent to your feline friend as well, with the same invitation."

"Hmph, Train will never say yes. You're wasting your time."

Atlantica laughed at that, "Oh, he'll say yes, alright. If not now, he will later. They always do…"

Creed looked behind him and turned slightly, a flash of crimson in his eyes. Walking back up into the gazebo, he came to her side and leaned close as to make his point absolutely clear. While the charm still lined his handsome features, all sense of benevolence was completely gone. His voice was low, steady, and deadlier than venom.

"Not you, nor any of your little buddies, have the right to even shine Train's shoes. Don't even suppose that you are his superior, or even his equal. I am the only one who comes even remotely close. I'm going to warn you once, and only once: Don't you come near him, or even contact him. And if you threaten or hurt him in anyway—death will be the least of your problems. Do you understand me?"

The young woman didn't bat an eye, "Perfectly."

"You can relay that message to your bosses also, as well as your own failure to recruit me tonight. I call no one master, and there is only one I call partner, there are no other positions that can be filled."

Atlantica too stood up from her spot, her glass in hand. "So this is your final answer on the matter?"

Creed smiled once more, his personality seeming have switched back to that of the charming intellectual. "It is, Mlle. LaCroix. Though, I thank you for the food. It was lovely, and the wine was to die for."

She inclined her glass towards him, the wind swirling around her beautiful figure, catching the edges of her cloak and lifted slightly, slightly revealing the edges of a striking black Grecian combat uniform. "Well, I'm sorry I took up some of your valuable time. I will tell my superiors your reply. However, it was nice having dinner with you as well, I'm glad you enjoyed the wine; it's the best of Chardonnay."

The breeze picked up around the couple and swirled between them like magical currents, fireflies interweaved in the air like tiny swirling dancers of light, their reflections lighting up the water. The spray of water from the fountains twirled in the air, rising higher and higher in height and sending small droplets through the air, filling the air with a fine mist and splashing small droplets over the table, splashing in the remaining glass of wine and the leftover food.

Creed picked up his glass, the remaining golden liquid tantalizingly sparkled in the night, reminding him fondly of his Cat's beautiful amber orbs. With one short shot, he drank the rest of the wine, smiling at the light taste. _Even has a kind of sweet aftertaste to it…_

He was about to turn to walk away, when his vision suddenly jolted! Putting his hand to his head, he tried to blink away the incoming dizziness, but that seemed to only make it worse. The glass left his hand and shattered loudly on the ground, while a harsh headache began to pulse within his head, and pain shot from his heart all over his body. _What the heck was this? Why was he getting sick all of a sudden? Had he been drugged? Poisoned? But he checked for that before he ate…_

Falling to one knee, he shakily looked over at Atlantica, only to see that the woman was perfectly fine, calmly watching him over the rim of her own glass with her teal-colored eyes.

His mind was swimming, but he knew that she was in some way responsible for what was happening to him. She had somehow put something in his drink when he wasn't looking, and he had fallen for it…now that just made him mad. Taking a hold of the Imagine Blade's hilt, he tried to steady himself enough to strike.

Atlantica cocked an eyebrow as the fallen Diskenth, went for his infamous weapon. _Well I guess he must have figured out there was something in his drink by now. But I wonder if he knows that the stuff in his drink allows me certain…privileges?_

Before Creed even had time to unsheathe his sword, the azure-haired French woman raised her hand to him and made circular motions with her fingers as if drawing trails in the air, her bottle-green eyes beginning to glow with their own luminosity. At that moment, such intense pain came to the Taoist's chest that he couldn't even cry out!

"Did you honestly think it would be that easy, _monsieur_? That you could just say 'no' to PHOENIX? You will regret your error in judgment in the future _mon ami_, but then I am sure you are even regretting it right now." She looked upon him with a condescending smile and a gaze of disdain.

He gritted his teeth past the awesome pain, the thick cover of darkness quickly flooding his mind and vision. "You…witch…"

She smirked and threw her hand into a twisting motion, making the pain triple in strength. "Your file says that you underestimate many of your opponents, and it seems it was quite correct. You were probably all wrong in most of the assumptions you made about me. However…one thing you did say, was quite true—the wine was _definitely_ to die for."

Creed could no longer hold on to consciousness, no matter how much his rage was determined to. With the combination of anguish from the woman's minstrations, and the poison's effect in his system, it was worse than slamming his head in three times with a sledgehammer. However, in his last thoughts, he wondered if this was not just the first attack of many, and that this would not be the last time he heard his name, that of his beloved, and PHOENIX all in the same conversation…

* * *

Atlantica watched as her silver-haired prey collapsed into painful unconsciousness, knowing full well that when the man awoke, he would be in a really, _really_ bad mood…one could even say a psychotic mood. Did she know that?—yes. Did she care?—no.

Walking up to his body, she unceremoniously kicked him on his back and straddling his stomach, she pried open his mouth with her fingers. From his lips, the water that had sprayed into his drink and had not only been the instrument of poison to his system, but also the reason she had been able to inflict crippling pain upon him, dripped from the corner of his mouth and onto the floor. Atlantica then proceeded to pull Creed's arm, until his body was lying out straight on the ground. "You know? You weigh more than you look…is that all muscle in that lean body?"

She stood and stretched, before turning to the fountain. "Come, we don't have all day, _ma soeur_."

The magnificent fountain stopped flowing, and the water began to congeal and swirl into the air, as if under some type of bewitchment! The mass of water shifted from out of its stone confines, taking a step on the outside ground, moving like a sentient being…which in fact—_she_ was.

The water flowed onto itself, forming, shaping, and sculpting, until the mass of water started to look more and more like a human being. The liquid took on color, which became flesh, and the flesh became swathed in black cloth. Before even two minutes had passed, the water had shifted into a pair of very feminine legs, arms, a beautiful torso, and everything else in between. The "liquid" quickly became a beautiful young woman. A woman who was dressed, shaped, and had a face exactly like Atlantica's (even an identical antique golden cross around her neck), except for two things: the color of her eyes and hair were reversed (sea green hair and ocean blue eyes), and the bejeweled shell comb holding her French twist up, was a conch shell rather than scallop.

The new young woman walked up to the other female, before looking down at the fallen leader of the Hoshi no Shito, her foot near his open mouth. With a sticky slurp, the "water" that had come from Creed's lips traveled to her boot and absorbed into the cloth, and becoming one with its original source once again.

She smiled, "He's kind of cute…for a man. It will be nice to have him in PHOENIX. Don't you think so, sister?"

Atlantica went to the side of her identical twin, "I assume you told the Celestials his answer _before_ you drugged him, correct Pacifica?"

Pacifica LaCroix looked at her sister with a smirk, "Well, their orders were the same as my actions: go to Stage 2. I just took the initiative, that's all."

The other woman sighed, "I told you about doing that, Pacifica! You have to obey protocol when it comes to our superiors."

Pacifica rolled her sapphire eyes, "Whatever, _ma soeur_. You didn't have to cause M. Diskenth all that suffering. You could have just let me work my way through his system. He wouldn't have harmed you; I would have made sure of that."

Atlantica smiled, "Yes, but it was fun. However, we have to move, the toxins you put in his body will only last for about 12 to 15 hours. We have to do our job in that time. Call Firestorm and tell him that they are to meet us at the designated place."

"Do we have to sister? I'm sure we can handle this on our own."

"Protocol, Pacifica…protocol."

The green-haired woman sighed exasperatingly and took her cell phone from out of the folds of her cloak, flipping it open and dialing a specific number. The phone rang only once, before a voice came on the line. "This is 010."

Pacifica answered back astutely, "010 this is 09. You standing by, Firestorm?"

The male voice on the other line said lightly, "We both are, Ningyo."

"We are ordered to move to Stage 2. You and Alchemist ready to go?"

"Of course, doll. We're _always_ ready. We'll be at the appointed location, see ya there."

Pacifica, codename: Ningyo, smiled at the American southern accent the man sported heavily. Though he was a man, that accent never failed to charm her. "I'll love to see you in action again, Firestorm."

The man laughed nonchalantly, "You'd better not let Siren hear _that_, Ningyo."

Pacifica snapped her phone closed and laughed before looking over to her twin sister, who eyed her with mild displeasure. "Oh, stop looking at me like that _Siren_. We have a job to do, so lets do it."

Atlantica, also known as Siren, shook her head in amused exasperation before turning to look at the sky. Her eyes then began to glow and her body condensed and changed forms of matter and composition, becoming a compound composed of molecules of only two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen—water. Like Pacifica, Atlantica also had the power to turn her body into "living" water…

The young agent transformed from flesh and blood, to liquid water, to water vapor is less than a minute. Her sister was little slower in her transformation, but soon joined her twin in the skies, the two making their way to their next mission. They were two sides of the same coin, daughters of the sea, and two of the best and deadliest agents PHOENIX had in its arsenal.

* * *

Dr. Jayden Calleigh stood up from his table at a quaint little city café, and placed his phone back into his pocket before leaving payment and a handsome tip, on the table for the cup coffee he had only half-drunk. As he walked away, he winked at the waitress who slightly swooned from his gaze. I mean, it wasn't everyday that she saw handsome studious young men like this one at her job. Dressed in black slacks, black turtleneck, black dinner jacket and expensive alligator shoes, everything about this man screamed smart and rich. His black hair was cut astutely, and his brown eyes sparkled with intrigue, the streamline silver glasses only accented them. However, there was one thing she thought was kind of strange about him. The man had a long cloak clipped around his neck and flipped over one shoulder. To her, such an accessory would be seen as gaudy, but on him it seemed to just fit in with his mystifying persona…

Jayden felt the woman's eyes on his back as he walked away, and inwardly smiled. _Dream all you want my dear, but knowing the real me…that's a dangerous position to put yourself in. _

As he walked away, he pulled out his phone again, and dialed a number on speed-dial. His cell continued to ring and eventually transferred to voicemail. Jayden swore and snapped the phone shut, he rolled his eyes and jumped into his sports car that stood by the road across from the café. Unlike the dark look he sported himself, his Lamborghini was painted in an all light gold body casing, black flames accented the sides. As he jumped in, he turned around and winked at the staring waitress. Closing the door and starting the engine, he smirked as he saw that the woman was doing all she could to stop from fainting. Revving the engine to life, the young doctor drove down the street sleekly and without heed to any kind of local speed limit, his car streaming down the street like a devil out of Hell. His young partner had a habit of being "out of reach" when he was engaged in his many "hobbies"…and if Alchemist was true to form, than _Firestorm_ knew exactly where to find him.

* * *

_DIT-DIT-D-D-DIT-DIT-DIT! _

The young man lifted his head from the bed lazily and looked over to the pair of pants that were strewn on the floor, the phone in the pocket vibrating and jingling as someone was calling him.

With a slight growl, the blond seventeen year-old crawled around and grabbed his jeans. Looking at the caller, he sighed and rolled his eyes in exasperation. Rather than answer the phone, he put it on vibrate and headed to the shower for five-minutes, before getting dressed while humming a Linkin Park tune to himself.

Taking his black cloak from off a raggedy coat rack, he clipped it around his neck, the gold phoenix pin glinting off the moonlight. Pulling black leather gloves over his fingers, he then opened the front door to the pay-per-hour motel room, but not before turning back around towards the bed he had just left. His icy snow white grin could have put absolute fear in the devil himself, not to mention the frail person who was on that bed.

Lying on the mattress, her limbs tied to the bedposts with piano wire, a young woman stared back at him. Her once fair skin was covered in bruises, and her clothes which had once looked like a school uniform, was ripped and torn, no part of her body shielded from even the most obscure eyes. Though her face was quite pretty, there was hardly any evidence of that anymore. While her face was not badly bruised, the thatch work of long but razor-thin cuts along her facial flesh would leave lifelong scars. However, despite all this, she was quite conscious—conscious and looking as if she was in eternal Hell…

It was exactly how he liked his women.

As he looked upon his handiwork, the handsome young man couldn't help but smile. He walked back up to her side, and grinned even wider as he saw her shudder and flinch as he approached her. Taking her chin firmly in one hand, he brought his lips down on hers, giving her a hard, bruising kiss, making sure to lick some of the blood from the side of her mouth. He rose back up and looked at her with vivid green eyes, his hand playing with her long brown hair. "You are quite amazing, darling. I had fun."

Tears rolled down the woman's cheek, and she tried to move her face away from his, but his grip was too strong. Then his hand went across her cheek so fast, that she could have easily suffered whiplash from the force.

The man's eyes were cold, but his smile only grew wider. "Now, now, I told you no moving away from me. Don't try to turn me on again; I have a job to go do. I love it when you struggle, but of course I still have to discipline you for misbehaving."

He looked up at her swollen right arm, "When you scratched me, I had to break your arm and tie you up. And when you wouldn't stop yelling and screaming—I had to cut out your tongue. I don't think you want me to discipline you anymore, do you?"

She rapidly shook her head, and he nodded in agreement with her answer. "That's a good girl…"

He kissed her once again and reached over to caress her breast fondly. All the while, with one hand he took out a switchblade from his pocket. With the press of a button and an expert slash, blood suddenly spurted to the ground, and the young woman screamed out in silence and in agony.

Cleaning the blade on her clothes, he smiled apologetically. "This was a present from my big brother, so I always have to make sure it stays clean and in working order."

He looked at the long gash on the teenage girl's side and gave a final nod of approval. Right now, the cut was not fatal…but he had made sure to nick an artery, and in 3 or 4 hours, things might just _become_ fatal. Either way, it would be very painful in the meantime.

Putting the knife in his pocket once again, he headed back to the door once again. "This is goodbye my darling. I know you enjoyed our time together, just as much as I did."

Opening the door and stepping outside, he took one last look into her horror-laden eyes. Finding it necessary to calm down his swarming hormones, he shut the door closed behind him with a bang, locking it shut. Taking off one of his gloves, he held the brass key in his bare hand.

His emerald eyes began to glow, and within his hand, electric sparks began to surround the key. In less than half a minute, the key turned from being composed of the normal copper zinc alloy, to being made up of calcium carbonate aka: common chalk!

His features returning to normal, he slipped his glove back on. With the now chalk-white motel room key in hand; he headed down the dirty motel halls and down the stairs. As he passed the motel manager/registrar, the man gave him a broken-toothed grin. "Well, you've been up there for a long while—longer than most of my customers—but you paid for the whole night so I guess it's your business."

The young teen just smiled back at him, "That's wonderful…"

The man couldn't help but shiver at the male, who was more than two times younger than he. The smile on that blond haired boy's face, made him wish he had never spoken, or that he even accepted the man's business…he didn't want to be anywhere near that youth.

The young man in question turned back around and headed to the door, speaking almost to himself. "Yes, that is most wonderful."

As he opened the door, his grip became tighter on the chalk key in his hand, turning it to white powdery dust that sifted to the ground.

Closing the door, he turned around about to walk down the stone steps to the sidewalk, when he was greeted with the unexpected sight of a stunning Lamborghini sitting on the street as if it owned the entire block. A tall striking man donned entirely in black, wearing a cloak identical to his, stood leaning against the car, flipping an antique pocket watch, open than closed again with a trace of mild impatience on his face. He looked up at the young man as if not surprised to see him standing there, before flipping the watch closed with a snap of finality.

The young man looked at the older one with slight surprise, before that same insatiable grin returned to his face. "You didn't have to come and get me, you know. I was coming."

Jayden put his watch back into his pocket, the teen's smile not even fazing him. "I called you half an hour ago, what took you so long, Vane?"

The seventeen year-old Vane Satoshi a.k.a. Alchemist walked down the stairs, hitting his partner playfully in the shoulder. "I said I was coming."

Jayden got in the driver's seat as Vane went around to the passenger side. "Just leave your phone on next time, will ya?"

Vane got in and slammed the door closed, "My phone _was_ on; I was ignoring you."

The older brunette rolled his eyes and sighed as he started the car, "Well, we have to go meet the girls. I hope you didn't exhaust yourself, we're going to have a long night."

The blond slouched in his seat, not bothering to buckle his seat belt on as the car ripped down the street. He lifted his eyebrow incredulously at his partner. "You interrupted my night, just to go meet some _girls_?"

"You know just who I'm talking about: Atlantica and Pacifica."

"Those two aren't girls, they're Amazons. And can we pull over and get a couple of beers or something? I'm parched."

If anything, Jayden seemed to have pressed the gas peddle harder, "No can do, we're going to be late as it is. Besides, the last thing we need is for you to be intoxicated on the job. The Celestials don't look kindly on that type of stuff."

Vane snorted in slight indignation, "Do I look like I care what those guys think?"

The young doctor looked at his partner with sharp severity, his self-control being the only thing keeping him from pulling the car over, and lighting a fire under the headstrong teenager. "Keep that mouth of yours under strict control, Satoshi! I trust I'll never hear you say anything like that again. And if you EVER think such traitorous thoughts, I will _personally _tell Llewellyn about your insubordination myself."

A flicker of slight horror came over Vane's features, and Jayden could see he had made his point. There wasn't much that could put fear into a dangerous and sadistic young man like Vane Satoshi, but one of those things (if not the only thing) was the opinion and presence his older brother. Llewellyn and Vane were alike in many aspects, but Vane was in constant awe of his big brother and he was the only person he truly respected. Llewellyn dotted on his brother more than anything and the two often lived in their own little world, where only the two of them mattered…

After a few minutes of complete silence, the doctor asked, "So what kind of girl was it this time?"

The blond immediately perked up, "Oh, she was spectacular; I met her at this high school and she was for me right away, I could see it in her eyes. It was just a matter of some physical 'persuasion', and she was all mine. The best I've had in weeks. Her hair was so fine and silky, and that face…oooh, to die for."

"You didn't leave a mess we're going to have to clean up later, did you? What did you do to this girl this time?"

Vane looked as excited as a child recounting his favorite Christmas morning memories, "Well, first I used a knife to—"

The man held up his hand, "Never mind, I just ate."

The young man crossed his arms in irritation, "Hey, I listen to you when you go on and on about **your** hobbies."

"That's my work, not a hobby."

Jayden smiled as his partner responded back with his usual zeal. He and everyone else in PHOENIX knew about Vane's "hobbies", but no one really cared as long as he kept doing his job, and his brother actually supported him.

Vane Satoshi was one of the best at what he did, but that was only as long as he was happy. And if slaying and raping women from time to time was what made him happy—PHOENIX was always in the interest of keeping its employees—content.

* * *

By the time Train had regained consciousness, the rain had stopped its incessant pounding. As he looked up into the clear but starless dark black sky, he realized with an aching sensation of cramped muscles that he was still in the same crumpled position in which he had fallen. His clothes, hair, and entire body were soaked, and even though it was a nice summer night, he was chilled to the bone. Trying his best to stop his teeth from chattering, the young Cat slowly got up, looking around him for any type of trouble. A quick look at his watch told him that, he had blacked out for almost 7 hours—it was practically the next morning! The blond creep and his mind-controlling pal, were definitely gone by this time. Looking down, he saw a bullet lying on the rooftop reminding him that there had been three PHOENIX bastards who ambushed him, knocking him out with a prick from a drug-laced dagger.

His hand instinctively going to where the wound had been, he could see that it had already clotted and while it hurt, it wouldn't cause him any trouble. _I'd love to get my hands on that golden-haired freak. What did he do that for, anyway? That was a pretty elaborate plan just to make sure I was out of commission for some hours. Hmm, oh well…I can think about that later. I need to get back to the motel before Sven kills me. No, scratch that, he's already going to slaughter me. I need to get back before Eve gets mad enough to pick up my pieces afterward and filet them over a roasting fire. _

Cracking his neck back and forth, Train wrung out his clothes as much as he could before leaping of the rooftop and down to the quiet streets. He was about to call Sven on his cell phone, when he noticed that he had a missed call and a new voice message. _Jenos? What did that idiot want?_

His irritation only making his headache worse, Train decided to leave calling Sven and listening to Jenos' no-doubt-useless message, until he got back to the motel. The cold sent a shiver up his spine as his water-soaked clothes clung to his skin like a leech upon his skin. With a throbbing shoulder, a splitting headache, and the threat of pneumonia hanging over his shoulder, Train began to walk down the silent streets, trying his best to get his mind off of those PHOENIX bastards, and instead think about getting a good night's sleep after a hearty meal and a bottle of milk. But one thing was for sure, he was going to have a lot of explaining to do…

* * *

Quite some hours earlier, Sven was searching for an explanation himself, but in a much more active fashion…

When he had first heard the spiky blonde's voice, he knew there was going to be trouble. However, the minute he tried to even make an offensive—or even defensive—move, he was suddenly paralyzed where he stood! Looking over to Eve, he could see that she couldn't move either, or even morph her body to fight back. A brief glimpse of fear and confusion came into her bright scarlet eyes, but was quickly buried as her usual defiance came back into her eyes. _That's my girl!_

The black-haired man looked bored as he sat down at the table, his head in his palm, as his other hand tapped on the table. The spiky-haired young male however, paid close attention to the two of them; his eyes staring at them in interest, studying them, with one of the creepiest smiles he had ever seen. Knowing that the young man had a habit of moving things with his mind, his telekinetic abilities must have been the reason why neither he nor Eve could move.

After a few moments, the blond turned to Eve—his smile would have made a pedophile jealous. "Well now that we're all comfortable, I think we should all get acquainted. My name's Llewellyn, and the suave, but dull man behind me, is Dante. Now why don't you tell me your name, little one?" His hand lightly caressed her cheek.

"Stay away from her!" Sven barked in outrage, futilely trying to attack the annoying little upstart. However, instead of release, he felt the invisible restraints contracting, the pressure suddenly beginning to send pain through his body. His ribcage feeling like it was in the coils of the strongest python on earth, and his throat felt like it was surrounded by its brother! Sven began gasping desperately for air, his lungs quickly becoming oxygen-deprived.

The blonde, Llewellyn, looked over at the suffering sweeper with disdain, "I was talking to the girl, Vollfied-san. Do **not** interrupt me…because the next time you do, you won't ever be able to interrupt _anyone_—again."

Turning back to Eve, he grasped her chin lightly, but firmly making sure her eyes were on him, the smile back on his lips. "Now where were we?"

The telekinetic bonds on Sven suddenly relaxed, and he instinctively coughed and spluttered as air rushed into his body, giving sweet relief.

A relieved gaze came over Eve, before she looked back at the golden psycho, a cold chill in her eyes. He **must** be crazy if he thought that she was going to even grace him with an answer, especially after what he just did to Sven.

Llewellyn raised an eyebrow at her silence and sighed lightly, "It's alright if you don't want to talk to me…_Eve_. Yes, I do know your name. I just wanted to hear your lovely voice."

Eve rolled her eyes at that pathetic excuse of a pick-up line. Well_, two can play at that game_. "Well, thank you. But if you know me, you know you can just let me go. I mean, what threat is an adolescent girl like me, to a strong, handsome man like you?"

Llewellyn laughed, "Why thank you Eve, even though my partner is probably going to tell me when this is all over, not to let what you said 'go to my head'. However, you and I both know that I cannot release you just yet. Because just like I know your name, I also know what you are, and what you can do. And I, frankly, don't want to get a concussion from getting hit in the head with a mallet, or frying pan, or whatever else you can think to morph yourself into."

He leaned closer, a strange dangerous spark coming to his eye, "Or maybe…you'd rather just morph your limb into a knife and stab me dead? However, you don't like to kill, do you? I can see it in your eyes. Though you were breed for death, you do your best to not let it touch you. Well…we'll see what I can do about that, won't we Evie?"

Sven didn't care about this madman's warnings, no one was going to look or talk to Eve like this! This guy needed to be in an asylum with all the other serial killers and criminal masterminds. "I told you to stop talking to her! Eve, don't listen to anything he has to say, he's just confusing you."

Eve mentally rolled her eyes. _Of course, stupid!_ Like she hadn't already figured that out. But then her breath caught in her throat as she looked at the change in Llewellyn's visage. There was pure annoyance, rage, and venom in his eyes as he looked over to Sven.

The sweeper in question, fully expected to feel his ribs cracking and punching holes into his lungs from a telekinetic pressure hold. However, he watched as the dark look passed from the blonde's face, and he instead looked behind him, to his all but forgotten partner. "Dante? Would you be so kind as to—entertain—Vollfied-san, …and of course see to it that he doesn't say a word until I'm ready for him."

Eve's face flashed deep anguish and anger as she watched the older black-haired man, snap up from the table as if he hadn't been almost asleep with boredom, nonchalantly walk over to Sven. The green-haired lug seemed to stand his ground, despite the fact that he was paralyzed. However, as he stopped just in front of Sven, Dante didn't make a move to punch him, or kick him, or even touch him. He stepped as close to him as he could, _definitely_ too close for comfort, and began speaking silently in Sven's ear, all the while his eyes staring directly into Sven's uncovered one. And Eve wasn't sure, but she thought that she could see his eyes beginning to glow…?

Suddenly, Dante stepped away from Sven, and his eyes were normal (if a little too deep blue in color), but Sven was definitely not. Despite being petrified by Llewellyn's telekinesis, Sven was trembling and shaking like he was being jolted by fifteen-hundred megavolts of electricity! His face was strained and his eye was haunted and terrified, it looked like he wanted to talk, yell, or even scream, but his mouth refused to open and no sound issued from his throat. Tears began to stream down Sven's face, while Dante turned around and sat down once again.

She turned to Llewellyn in rage, "What did he do to him! What's wrong with him!"

He smiled at her patiently as if he were enamored with her face, "Did you know that Sven Vollfied used to be in law enforcement, IBI? Yes, of course you did. He had a partner and best friend named Lloyd Goldwynne, who gave his life to save Vollfied-san. The man practically died in his arms. Can you imagine how much anguish Sven must have felt in those moments? As he felt his friend's blood, his _**life**_, pouring from out of countless bullet wounds and onto the cold ground?"

Eve only blinked back at him, not having known the whole story before, but was still saddened even more by knowing the truth. "It must have hurt him deeply."

The blond nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah, I guess so…well, you see, my partner has quite a talent for persuasion. With just the right words, he can make _anyone_ do or see just about anything he wishes. And I asked if he could just teach Vollfied-san here, some discipline in knowing when to keep his mouth shut. Sooo…right now, Sven is reliving the exact last moments of his former partner's horrible death—over and _over_ and _**over**_ again, until I finally decide to talk to him…after I finish with you of course."

Eve didn't know if she had ever felt pure hatred before for anyone, but this one time, against this one guy, she felt a hatred so overwhelming that she could hardly hold it within her. Llewellyn could see it too, but it just helped to arouse him even more, his smile broadening.

She snapped at him furiously, "You **monster**!"

He turned his head and looked at her from the side questioningly, "Hmm…I thought that was _your_ title?"

She ground her clenched teeth in fierce resentment at what she held as an insult. She hated to look into that man's cold turquoise eyes, but she couldn't turn to the side of her and see the man she had seen for a long time as a father-figure and best friend, silently being emotionally crushed into insanity, just because of a psycho's insane whims.

Llewellyn went closer to her, the tiny stiletto dagger in his hand went against her cheek and sent a long, fine crimson line against her flesh. He watched with delight as she shuddered involuntarily. "You'll soon learn that my title is both similar and completely different than yours. You, unlike me, have a fear of killing. You wish to rebel against the very reason for your creation. Isn't that right Evie-chan?"

Without waiting for her to answer, his telekinesis pulled her closer, and he unrestrainedly licked the side of her face, savoring the taste of her blood. "Don't worry, Evie. I'm quite a master at squashing rebellion, and I'll tell you something else…"

He leaned in even closer, and this time, Eve was sure that his eyes were beginning to glow with luminosity, as he stared directly into her own. His voice was slow and steady, with an underlying edge of pleasure mixed with cruelty. "Walking through walls and moving things with my mind, is not my true power Evie. Tonight, you're going to learn what _true_ power is."

The bioluminescence of his eyes got even brighter.

"You'll learn why, **my** title—is _Shinigami_."

* * *

By the time Train got within sight of the motel, he was bone tired. Every muscle in his body ached, and he was so hungry, he thought he could eat three horses! Sven was going to so chew him out, for being not one or two hours late, but an entire—

He caught the smell of blood when he was within ten feet of the motel. And it wasn't just a little, the whole place smelled as if it was saturated in it. Hades was in his hand before he even had time to think about it.

As he walked slowly up to the building, he could see that the doors to the main office of the building, as well as to the individual rooms, all stood ajar as if lying on their hinges. Using his talent for sneaking through the shadows, he approached the first room. The place was in complete darkness, but he could easily see as well in the dark as he could in the light. His hand held Hades close to his body, the safety off and ready for just the silent pull of the trigger.

However…what he found inside Room 101, almost made Train drop his famed weapon. He quickly covered his mouth and nose, and pushed the violent nausea back down. He couldn't afford to throw up right now, of all times…

Leaving the scene of carnage, he went to Room 102…then 103…104…105...

By the time he got to the end of the row, at Room 112, Train fell to his knees and vomited up anything and everything that had been inside of him for the past two days. In all his years as an assassin and a sweeper, he had never seen such bloodshed, except for maybe on the battlefield.

In each and every room, had been littered—with bodies! The corpses of each and every guest lay in their rooms, **dead**—flesh torn and twisted in the most macabre of ways…

Their blood painted the walls and splashed the floors, the bodies of the very young to the very old lay out in some fashion with their life cut out of them with violent brutality. No one had been spared as far as he could see, men, women, children, even infants had all suffered very violent deaths. Arms and legs had been hacked off, torsos torn clean off the abdomens, decapitation, disembowelment, dismemberment…it took all of the strictest training he'd ever received, just to get some semblance of normalcy back into his body…

Standing once again, he breathed in and out slowly, and began moving once again. He had to assume that he would be seeing this kind of bloodbath all over the motel. _How could this happen? Who would do something like this?_ This was even extreme for a serial killer.

Taking a deep breath, Train took out his cell phone. He hit speed dial for Sven, but after a few minutes, snapped the phone closed angrily as he got a "this phone is disconnected" automated message. He'd told that jerk to pay his phone bill. He was so going to chew Sven out for this when he found him! And of course he would find him; it was the only available course of action.

Hurriedly, he dialed Rins' number knowing she was still in the immediate area, and would be able to help (for all the good it did) smooth things over with the authorities, or at least provide him with some back up. However, he experienced a wave of déjà vu as he got the ditsy thief's honey-dripped voicemail message telling her that she would call him back as soon as possible. He put his phone away and closed his eyes in exasperation. That woman…never around when you needed her. She was most likely out on a date with her "Lucky Seven" man, Jenos Hazard. Just the thought of those two together having the time of their lives, while he was sulking around this dump, knee-deep in blood, was enough to make him heave—again. Why didn't those two just get married and stop all this "playing hard to get" stuff? Everyone knew the two were hopelessly in love, and it wasn't like he cared or anything, but seeing the two of them around each other without either one making a move to further their relationship, was frustrating and irritating at best.

Well, since he could just about forget about back-up, he would have to handle things on his own. It wasn't like he hadn't done it before; he was just a little out of practice that was all. And anyway, he didn't have time to be second-guessing himself. Eve and Sven were waiting on him, he was _their_ back up. He smiled slightly as he held Hades to his side; his finger caressed the trigger lightly with toughed familiarity. He was the Black Cat after all, and he did have a reputation to uphold.

Their room could only be accessed from the inside of the motel. Walking stealthily toward the front entrance, the door slightly ajar he slipped into the dark lobby.

Only the street lamp lit his way as he walked, and even with only that dull light he could tell that the once beige carpets were now soaked crimson. Steeling his body and spirit against the smell of carnage and mayhem, he totally ignored the mutilated and maimed body of the bellhops and manager behind the front desk. His movement quick and soundless, he slinked up the stairs, his golden eyes flickering back and forth searching for trouble. He was on a hair-trigger instinct, no matter how very unlikely that the murderer was still on the premises…

* * *

Glowing vermillion eyes stared down from the shadows at the brown-haired young man. He was the Black Cat—that much was known. His real name was on the tip of the tongue, but it mattered not.

The Black Cat moved, which meant he lived.

**Nothing** could be allowed to live…

* * *

A single drop hit Train's nose as he neared the second floor. He blinked as he looked at it cross-eyed. Rubbing the appendage with the side of his finger, he saw scarlet smear across his skin. _More blood?_ Couldn't he ever get away from the stuff!

Before he could fully clean himself of the offensive liquid, another drop plopped noisily on his face once again.

The two small droplets were the only warning he had…

Train was suddenly knocked off his feet and thrown down the stairs! Thinking on his feet, he looped out his arm to grab onto one of the banister rungs. He staggered to a sudden stop before turning to face his abrupt attacker—only to be slammed into once again! This time sending both him and his assailant over the railing and to the hard floor below!

Landing hard on his back, Heartnet groaned aloud at the jarring of his backbone and ribs, but he quickly moved as his shadowed enemy pounced on top of him from above—bloody, large, shiny, _keen_ blades aimed straight down at him, ready to turn him into a human shish-kebab.

Using Hades to brace off the attack, he tried to use one hand to disarm his foe to no avail. _Whoever this guy is, he's strong! I can barely keep him at bay even with both hands!_

The sudden sound of helicopter propellers broke through the surrounding silence, as it flew overhead in a rush to get to its destination. For an instant, the copter's spotlight flooded the motel lobby with light, and for a split-second, Train could see the identity of his opponent.

Long, blonde, blood-soaked hair came into view, the damp black clothes that could barely be seen under the red, the pale skin that seemed to be one with weapons that were bearing down on him…and those haunting crimson eyes—those eyes would occupy his dreams for many days to come.

He knew who his adversary was…

That didn't necessarily mean that he believed his own eyes.

A single whisper came from his lips as he gazed unbelievingly at the young woman who was trying to murder him.

"_**Eve**_?"


End file.
